


2 broke girls.... and a couple superheros?

by Kairri_rin



Category: 2 Broke Girls, Captain America, Marvel, Thor - Fandom
Genre: Darcy Lewis is Max Black, Darcy Lewis is Tony Stark's Daughter, Darcy gets kidnapped a lot, Maybe some Darcy/Coulson?, Multi, Past Darcy/Natasha, Pepper is a good mom, SHIELD Agent Darcy Lewis, possible Darcy/Sam/Natasha, this Fic gives me all the poly feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:34:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 50,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21888997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kairri_rin/pseuds/Kairri_rin
Summary: Darcy is out of the superhero gravitational pull. She’s started over as Max Black and has made herself a new family. One far away, yet still close, to the old life that she had never wanted to leave in the first place.The winter soldier showing up in DC was unexpected and grief over Nick Fury’s death forces Darcy back into the drama of hero’s for, what she thinks will be, a short time.But she just can’t seem to find her way out when the winter soldier shows up at the diner months later, barely holding it together, and barely able to remember a thing.*I really tried writing a good summary that would fit in this little box, but just couldn’t manage it, sorry*
Relationships: Darcy Lewis & Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis & Natasha Romanov, Darcy Lewis/ James “Bucky” Barnes, Darcy Lewis/ Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers, James “Bucky” Barnes/Steve Rogers, Max Black & Caroline Channing
Comments: 173
Kudos: 368





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, the timeline on this is going to be completely screwy. Assume all the stuff from the 2 broke girls show happened, but in a shorter timeframe and Thor: the dark world happened as normal. So this would push the time of the winter soldier back by 3-4 years (since in canon they’re about a year ish apart?). I won’t be putting any dates or anything on it, so it doesn’t really matter all that much.

It took surprisingly little time for news of Nick Fury's assassination to spread. Max was headed to work, walking by a radio shack - of all places - with Caroline talking her ear off like normal. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the picture on the tv in the window and had to stop to do a double-take. Caroline continued walking, not noticing how her friend had stopped short, eyes glued to the tv. It took her longer than it should have to pull the door open and rush into the store.  
Every tv was playing the story. Nickolas Fury, Head of US intelligence agency assassinated in Captain America's living room. And suddenly it wasn't Max Black standing there watching the news, it was Darcy Lewis.  
There was a small clip of audio, Fury and Cap talking before shots rang out followed by a pained cry and a thump. Then there was a short clip of footage of Captain America dressed in civilian clothing tearing through an office building, completely wrecking anything in his way. The footage switched between several cameras before ending with him launching himself out a window. If Darcy hadn't still been reeling from Fury's death she would totally be commenting on how hot it was, which is exactly what Caroline took the moment to do.  
"Now there is one man I would do so so many things to." Caroline said from behind her as the camera switched to a photo of Steve Rogers in dress uniform. Darcy couldn't do too much other than just nod her head and stare as the same story started playing over again. Caroline frowned at her.  
"He's not your usual type, Max."  
"What can I say, being with Randy showed me that maybe my normal type just doesn't cut it anymore" she shrugged, finally looking away from the tv long enough to catch Caroline's proud smile.  
"You said his name! And there weren't even any tears! And you're totally sober!" She exclaimed, reaching forward to hug her friend. She pulled back suddenly, looking at Darcy suspiciously "You are sober, aren't you?"  
"I haven't been sober since the day you followed me home like a stray cat" she replied with a mischievous smile.

She had her iPad propped up on the counter playing the news cycle. Any time she wasn't waiting tables at the diner or serving drinks at the dessert bar, she was glued to the screen. It was constantly more of the same story, that is, until the next day when the news broke that Captain Steve Rogers aka Captain America was wanted by Shield for information about the death of Nickolas J. Fury. This story was also accompanied by the footage, this time the Captain was in uniform. It showed him crashing through the glass roof of the small shopping area next to shield. There was a smaller, shakier clip of him taking out an entire quinjet by himself, before taking off once again.  
Everyone was buzzing about it. Was Captain America a traitor? Was it a misunderstanding? What was really going on?  
Darcy was on edge about the whole thing. None of it felt right to her, but she couldn't explain why. Caroline was starting to worry, she could tell, but Darcy couldn't do anything other than shake her head and try to make shallow comments about how much of a tragedy it would be for someone as hot as Cap to be a traitor. She couldn't explain to Caroline that Nick had been a personal friend and his death left her feeling things that she had tried to bury years ago.  
She snuck away that night when Caroline was knee-deep in customers at the dessert bar and used a spare burner phone to call a number she'd memorized years ago. It rang. And rang. And then stopped. There was no answer. She tried two more times but knew there would be no answer, just like every other time she'd tried. Darcy's emotional pit dug deeper into her chest like it always did when she called, always knowing there would be no answer.  
She needed to stop. She needed to think logically. And she really really needed to turn off the news and put Darcy Lewis back in her past where she belonged. She wasn't Darcy anymore, she was Max. And Max didn't know these people. Max didn't care about these people. Max would scoff and make crass comments and make the whole thing a joke. She wouldn't hang on every word said, wouldn't watch the news cycle 24/7. Wouldn't memorize every sound and sight from the clips, trying to piece together the true story. But Darcy did, and as hard as she had tried she couldn't push Darcy down. 

It was three more days before there was anything new on the news. When it was, she was thankfully at home. Caroline was at the diner, just starting out her shift, but Darcy had been too sick with worry to try to pretend everything was fine. Shield was the bad guy here, she didn't know how or why, but that was the only way she could explain Nick's death and Cap's hasty departure. It's not like it was hard for her to believe, she'd never trusted Shield, not even after she started working for them. It still made her physically sick to think about. She'd left voicemails for everyone she knew and not a single person had called her back. Not even a text. 

The news showed cars racing down the highway. The angles constantly changing, some shaky shots done by phone cameras that the news had pulled from live facebook feeds, some shots from red light cameras, but the main camera was pointed down from above, obviously on a news helicopter.  
Gunshots rang out in the background and there was a man literally on top of a speeding car, gun in his hands. She watched with horror as the door of the car flew off with three people attached to it. She recognized two of them but didn't know the third. It was the one with the bright red hair, however, that caught her attention and made her shoot to her feet. She clutched her phone, immediately dialing the number before looking back to the screen and watching as Captain America was launched off the overpass. If Darcy called, Natasha wouldn't answer. And if she did, she'd be distracted.  
The metal glinting off of the arm of one of the men caught Darcy's eye. He was dressed from head to toe in black, weapons strapped to practically every inch of his body, a mask and goggles hiding his features, but anyone with any training would know him anywhere.  
The winter soldier. The ghost story. The man who wasn't supposed to actually exist. There he was, raining down gunfire over the overpass. Darcy watched as he tore his goggles from his face and jumped off the overpass landing on a car beneath it and prowling off in the direction Natasha had gone. Darcy shook her head. Of course, the Black Widow would do something to piss off the Winter soldier enough to get him to ignore Captain America.  
Darcy's heart clenched in her chest as they fought. Even Natasha was outclassed by the Winter Soldier.  
Everything was going by so fast and then suddenly Cap was there, him and the soldier fighting hand to hand before Cap actually managed to toss the soldier around. She watched in horror as Cap stopped what he was doing and then allowed them to be surrounded and ushered into the back of a vehicle.  
"No! Nooo! NOO! You self righteous asshole!" Darcy screamed at her screen, realizing as they were manhandling Natasha that she had blood gushing down her shoulder. She scrambled for her phone again, screwing up the number twice as she dialed it, but finally getting it right. It rang, and it rang. She called four more times before screaming wordlessly and throwing her phone down on the couch. She sank to the floor and cried, letting herself feel helpless for more time than she would have liked. 

Her phone ringing from the couch startled her out of the trance she'd been in. Just staring unseeingly at the wall. She Jumped for her phone, crawling across the floor and answering before even looking at the number, breathing a desperate hello into the phone.  
"Darcy, honey, I'm so sorry for how long it's taken to get back to you! I was in Milan for a meeting when I saw what was going on over there. I finished up as soon as possible, I'm on the jet. Are you okay?" The light, slightly frantic voice on the other line made Darcy sigh out a small breath of relief.  
"Yeah, Pepper, I'm alright. Do you have any information? I just saw Cap and Natasha and some other guy all ushered off by Shield. Natasha was shot pep. I can't reach her." She felt minimally calmer now that she could hear Peppers's voice, she'd always been able to calm Darcy just with her presence.  
"I'm not sure what's going on. (Happy, turn on the news please). But we'll figure it out. We're on the way to pick up your father in Paris" Darcy grimaced at the words your father and could practically feel Peppers responding eye roll, but neither of them pressed the issue this time. There were plenty of more important things to deal with for now.  
"So, he finally had the operation, huh?" She couldn't muster up too much interest, but she also couldn't pretend she didn't care at all.  
"Yeah. No more arc reactor. No more shrapnel." They both went silent for a minute. They always did when he came up. And yet he always did come up.  
"Look, honey, Tony has connections, he'll know who to call. And if he doesn't get the answers he wants, well, we all know what the suit of his can do. He'll be down there pulling shield apart brick by brick to find them. I'll call you again when we know more, but stay safe, okay. I'll talk to you soon, Darce."  
"Yeah, okay. I'll talk to you soon, Pep"  
Amazingly Darcy still felt better when they hung up. Talking to Pepper always felt like a hug. She just had a way of enveloping a person in her warmth. She sat back down on the floor again, hugging her legs, and just breathed. Just breathed. It would be okay. Pepper was on it, and Pepper was the most efficient woman she knew.

It was less than 12 hours later that she got the call. It was short.  
"Watch the news," Happy's gruff voice told her before hanging up. Darcy shot up and turned the tv on. The news station was already up and she watched as people ran screaming from Shield headquarters. The news anchor wasn't sure what was happening and there had been no news officially. They were across the river, zooming their cameras in as far as possible to see what was going on, and not getting much until the sounds of gunfire started echoing through the mics. They could see smoke from the roof, a body falling to the ground, the almost constant sound of gunfire. Quinjets started exploding and suddenly the cameraman was running to a better vantage point, the shaky lenses showing the three giant helicarriers that had been rising through the air from an underwater bunker. They hovered where they were for a few minutes before continuing the rise until they were above the buildings.  
Darcy ran to her bedroom closet and kicked a hole in the wall. She dug out a black bag as fast as she could. Leaving a trail of plaster dust in her wake as she dragged it into the living room. It took her few precious seconds to rip the laptop out of the bag and attach the spare battery pack to boot it up. She pulled out the com unit Natasha had given her on their last mission and immediately started messing with the frequencies on it, trying to catch Natasha's.  
The laptop booted up and she quickly hacked into shield servers, switching through the camera feeds try to figure out what was going on in the building. To her eternal frustration, most of the cameras seemed to be either out or damaged enough that it was hard to make out what was going on.  
"Come on, come on" she whispered to herself as she simultaneously switched through radio and camera feeds.  
She sat up suddenly when one of the radio feeds picked up the telltale white noise of an open channel.  
"NAT?!" Darcy practically screamed into the com, hoping against hope that it was the woman she was searching for.  
"Uh. No, not quite." Came the masculine voice that was very clearly not Natasha.  
"Who the fuck are you and where is Natasha?"  
"Like, Black Widow Natasha?"  
"Yeah, that Natasha"  
"Look, chick, I don't know who you are, but we're in the middle of something here - shit" she could hear the creaking of a door and the sudden, unmistakable sounds of fists hitting flesh.  
"This is gonna hurt. There are no prisoners with Hydra, just order and order only comes through pain. You ready for yours?" The voice was quiet, almost hard to hear. But that didn't stop Darcy from rolling her eyes at his hydra hero worship.  
"Man shut the hell up"  
"Jeez, shuuut up" Darcy drawled at the same moment.  
"Jinks, you owe me a soda" Darcy practically whispered, unable to not be snarky, but trying to not completely distract the dude. She wasn't paying attention to the conversation anymore, too busy trying to pull up security footage. She finally managed to find a camera that was on and gasped as she watched Natasha and a large black man in a black trench coat walking out of a meeting room, leaving a room full of bodies behind them. The shock of seeing the dead Nick Fury alive and well made her tune out completely, staring straight into the now blank laptop screen as she heard screaming and what must have been a helicopter in the background of the coms. It wasn't until Natasha's very familiar voice addressed her that she snapped out of it.  
"Darcy, get to DC"  
"10-4" and she shut off the coms, packed away her laptop, grabbed a burner phone, and was out the door. 

She was halfway to DC when her phone chimed. The message was sparse, the name of a hospital, a floor number, unit number, and time. From a blocked number. She texted a quick confirmation back and settled back into her seat on the train. It'd been almost two hours, and still, the search for Captain America continued.  
The news was in a frenzy over what had happened, showing all the footage they had, running everything from fury's "assassination", Cap's "fugitive" story, the fight on the highway, the helicarriers, the building collapsed, and somehow had managed to get little clips of security footage from inside the triskelion itself. They played Cap's speech on near repeat on some news stations.  
It wasn't until she was in the Uber pulling away from the train station in DC that they got the news. Captain America had finally been found.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays, guys!

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Three armed agents stepped off followed by a seemingly normal black man pushing a stretcher. The dude laying on it was passed out cold. There were straps across his torso and legs holding his body down onto the stretcher and the blanket that was thrown haphazardly on was him not doing a great job of covering his uniform. It was Captain America and he had definitely seen better days. Next came a woman, obviously a nurse or a doctor, rolling an IV line that was hooked up to the man on the stretcher with two more people who moved out of the elevator and took hold of the sides of the stretcher. No one else was on the elevator.   
"Where's Nat?" She asked, wringing her hands and looking around the armed guys as if she had missed her coming out of the elevator.   
The black guy raised an eyebrow at her.   
"Don't worry miss. She's on her way down, not enough room in the elevator, so we had to bring them down one at a time". Her next question was cut off as the elevator dinged again and more agents in black stepped through, followed by another nurse pushing a wheelchair. This one occupied by a fiery redhead who looked completely annoyed.   
"Nat!" Darcy cried, rushing forward and just barely holding herself back from dropping in the other woman's lap.   
"What the hell happened??"   
"I was shot, moya milaya." Darcy could practically hear the "duh" implied by her dry tone of voice and she snorted at the super spy, forgetting her anxiety for a second.   
"Don't worry, kitten, the wheelchair is a formality. The doctors insist on doing a checkup, despite the fact that I'll be fine." She rolled her eyes upwards.  
Darcy took a step back and folded her arms across her chest.   
"I was terrified, Nat. No one was answering my calls and Nick was dead. I even called Tony. He never called back" The other woman put her hand on Darcy's arm comfortingly.   
"Let's go get Steve situated, kitten, then we can worry about Tony." They both turned their attention to the unconscious man. The other group had stalled, they seemed to be waiting for them.   
"Did the black widow just call that woman kitten?" Came the not so quiet whisper from one of the armed men to the black man who was still holding on to the captain's stretcher. He was watching their exchange with surprisingly sharp eyes and Darcy took back her initial assessment of him. She must be going soft to not notice the way he held himself. He was very clearly a solider or an agent, just out of uniform. She straightened her shoulders, suddenly self-conscious under the man's scrutiny. He turned and shrugged at the agent and started toward the doors, waiting a second for the nurse to scan her badge and then pushed through as the door opened automatically. Darcy took Natasha's wheelchair from the other nurse and followed them, listening to Natasha when she told Darcy to continue into Steve's room, rather than follow the nurse into a room of her own. Much to the annoyance of Natasha's nurse, of course. But when the Black Widow gives you an order it's always best to follow it.   
They watched silently as the crumpled mess of a man was moved to a bed. The nurse adjusted his IV lines and quickly set to running more, hooking him up to a few monitors as well.   
Natasha wouldn't even allow the doctor to look her way until he had finished assessing Steve's damage. They had pulled the blue cowl off his head, revealing his messy blonde hair and multiple cuts that looked as if they had already been healed, the blood mostly washed away by the river he'd fallen into.   
It had been less than a few hours since Steve had been brought in to the hospital initially, but the worst of his injuries seemed to be healing already. Even still, Darcy was having a hard time reconciling the beaten and broken man in front of her with the regal and seemingly invincible Captain America. This man here didn't look larger than life, he didn't look like a superhero, despite the uniform. His face was stained with dirt, puffy and bloody. His uniform was torn in multiple spots and Darcy could see the holes where he'd been shot.   
Her and Natasha had left the room shortly while the doctors cut him out of his uniform, cleaned him up, and redressed him in a hospital gown, but Sam stayed in the room with them. Sam, Darcy had learned, was the one she had briefly talked to earlier in the middle of their fight to take down Hydra.   
The doctor assured Natasha and Sam that Steve would make a full recovery, though they couldn't be sure when that would be due to the serum running through his veins. Had Steve been normal, he would have been dead ten times over. It was that statement that made Natasha's face go blank in the way it sometimes did when she was feeling particularly hard emotions. Darcy couldn't do anything other than put a hand on her shoulder and try to comfort her. 

They spent hours in medical. The first few were full of assessments, the rest was spent in near-constant silence around Captain America's bed. After the first 15 minutes, Natasha had pulled two laptops out of a backpack that Sam had carried in. She handed one to Darcy.   
"I need your help." She'd said, before explaining about all the shield secrets she'd spilled onto the internet in the effort to expose Hydra.   
"Gather anything you find on the Winter Soldier. Save it externally and scrub it from public archives." The three of them sat close around the hospital bed, all touching in some way, drawing whatever strength they could from each other, and Darcy found she didn't mind. Even if she didn't know Sam well, and Steve wasn't even awake yet, Darcy used to be a very tactile person before becoming Max Black. She found it came back to her naturally.   
It had been sooner than Darcy had anticipated when Natasha got up and claimed to be in desperate need of a shower and sleep. Darcy couldn't blame her. She was in need of some sleep too. But she stayed sitting next to Sam, one of her hands intertwined with his in is lap. Her legs were propped up on the bed, her toes just barely brushing the skin of Steve's leg underneath the blanket. She switched between working one handed on her laptop and sitting back to watch the steady rise and fall of Steve's chest. Time passed, she wasn't sure how much before Sam squeezed her hand a few times to get her attention.   
"Go on and get outta here. You look like you could use a nap or something." He smiled a soft gap-tooth smile at her and she felt her face break into a smile too.   
"Okay. I'll be around if you need me." She squeezed his hand twice before letting it go and getting to her feet. It only took her two steps to reach the body lying in the bed, and a few extra seconds to reach over and grab one of his large hands. She squeezed his hand in hers like she had done to Sam and whispered a quick get well soon before leaving.   
There were two guards stationed directly outside the Captain's room, large assault rifles resting in their hands. There were two more down the hall at the entrance to the unit and she was not surprised in the least to see five more on the other side of the doors. Two flanking the elevators, two flanking the hall doors, and one next to the check-in station. Darcy nodded to them as she passed, stepping quickly onto the elevator as the doors opened for her.  
It would have been a quick walk over to the hotel, but was made longer by Natasha's insistence that she take a longer path, doubling back on herself multiple times before finally reaching the place. Natasha was passed out cold, star fished face down, on one of the two beds in their standard hotel room. Darcy shook her head, not even bothering to fight the amused smile breaking over her face and started tearing her clothes off on her way to the bathroom.   
The shower started up already warm, so Darcy barely had to wait before jumping in, sighing at the lukewarm water over her skin. It wasn't as hot as she had previously loved her showers, but it was a far cry from the near ice-cold showers her and Caroline had to face on the regular.   
It was all too soon she was hopping out. She wrapped a large towel around her hair after doing a quick rub down of her body with it. She snagged Sam's bathrobe and threw it on to leave the bathroom, not entirely sure when the man would be back. She didn't want to surprise him with her nudity, which was something Natasha had gotten used to years ago. When she left the bathroom Natasha had moved to one side of the bed, angling herself toward the door, with one hand under her pillow, no doubt holding some type of weapon.   
Once dressed, Darcy glanced between the two beds. Sam had been pretty adamant about staying the night in the hospital, but they did say Steve probably wouldn't be waking up any time soon. So she should probably just stick with the original plan of climbing in bed with the black widow. Not like it hadn't happened before anyway.  
Nat shifted over slightly as Darcy climbed in the bed beside her, opening one eye slightly.   
"Thanks for being here, Darce" she whispered. Darcy reached out toward her and grasped the redhead's hand.   
"You don't need to go back, D. I don't know what I'm doing after this, but you can come with me. And you'll always have a place with Pepper. Hell, even Sam at this point would let you stick with him." Darcy squeezed Natasha's hand again.   
"I can't just leave. I made a life there." Darcy shook her head, trying to banish thoughts of leaving her new life. She'd left for a reason. She'd been faced with a life of house arrest or an identity change that meant cutting off all contact with her old life. She'd made her choice, but god was it hard.   
"I'm putting them all in danger, though, aren't I? Not telling them who I am. Eventually the past is going to catch up to me. Maybe I should leave." This time it was Natasha squeezing her hand.   
"I wish I could say something to make it better, but we both know I'd be lying. There are very few people I refuse to lie to, Darcy." 

Sam finally dragged his overly exhausted butt back to the hotel room hours later, sometime in the very early hours of morning. He wasn't sure what time it was, or even how long he'd been asleep at the hospital before one of the nurses finally kicked him out to go get an actual night's rest. By the time he opened the door to the hotel room, both women were fast asleep, dead to the world. Sam stood in the doorway, watching them in the hallway light filtering in from the crack under the door. Natasha was in the middle of the bed, both women on their sides, their arms wrapped around each other and holding on loosely in their sleep. Sam smiled gently at the rare peaceful expression on Natasha's face and went to get ready for bed, trying to be as quiet as possible to avoid waking either woman.   
When he was done he stood next to their bed, staring at the second, totally empty bed in the room, before sighing and starting for it.  
He was startled when he felt a hand on him, he looked over to see Natasha's hand on his arm. She shook her head at him and tilted it toward the empty space behind her. For a second he debated on saying no, but he was only human, and the last few days had been stressful and downright traumatic, and all he wanted right now was human touch and reassurance. So he shrugged a bit to himself and rounded to the other side of the bed, crawling in behind Natasha and throwing an arm carefully over her waist, pulling himself up behind her to settle in. He felt Darcy's hand smooth up his arm, cradling Natasha between them, but he wasn't sure whether she was awake or not.   
It was the best night's sleep he'd gotten in years.


	3. Chapter 3

Darcy usually ignores the chime of the bell over the door. It was a sound she heard so many times a day that it practically didn't even register in her brain anymore, so not even she knew exactly why the sound drew her attention at that particular moment. Her eyes drew up to the sound and the figure standing in the doorway, practically filling up the entire space, made her face go slack with shock. Her hands fell to her sides, pen and order pad still clutched between her fingers, as she stared. Time seemed to stretch out as she took in the man's long hair, beat up ball cap, leather jacket, and ripped jeans. It felt like hours as she let her eyes roam over him, yet knew it had barely been seconds. She sucked in a breath and turned on her heel, ignoring the indignant squawks of the table who had been halfway through ordering their food.   
She stormed through the kitchen door, shoving her pen and notepad into Caroline's chest.   
"Finish taking that table's orders for me. I'm going on break" she managed to remember her words before once again spinning on her heel and rushing away. She snagged a carafe of coffee and two mugs on her way out.   
It took her seconds to find him in the back corner of the diner, exactly where she had expected him to be.   
He looked up from the table as she approached, watching without comment as she sat across from him in the booth, scooting over in the seat so she wouldn't impede his view of the rest of the diner. His eyebrow rose slightly as she poured two cups of coffee and shoved one his way.   
"Soooo. Ah. Watch'cha doing here, big guy?" She asked finally, holding her steaming coffee up to her face, blowing on it slightly and wincing at the bitter smell. Darcy loved coffee, but this cheap stuff was the worst. The man's eyebrows rose at her again before his gaze glanced behind her, doing a sweep of the diner.   
"You know me" it wasn't a question. Darcy nodded her head, then paused, and shook it.   
"No. I know of you" he nodded his head in understanding, then went back to looking over her shoulder.   
"Got a name I can call you by?" She ventured carefully. His eyes found hers again and he just stared silently for a long moment.   
"The man - Steve - called me Bucky" his voice was gravelly, like he was unused to using it still, and the sound of it made everything in Darcy flare up in anger.   
"Is that who you are?" Now it was his turn to nod and then rethink the action.   
"I'm not sure I'll ever be him again. I'm not sure I even remember who he is" he answered a lot more honestly than Darcy had ever expected, his voice and expression turning with a vulnerability that she had not expected the deadliest assassin in the world to ever possess. Especially after 70 some years of torture and brainwashing to try to get rid everything human about him. Yeah, Darcy had read the files the Black Widow had leaked onto the internet. She'd even jumped in to catch a few of Nat's less favorable missions to keep those out of the public eye, while she was cleaning up the vast majority of the files on the winter soldier.   
"Is that why you're in New York? To try to remember?" He nodded, looking away again. It made sense. When you lose something everyone always asks where the last place you had it was, then tells you to retrace your steps, so maybe memories were like that. Go to places you've been, eat foods you liked, and remember them. Darcy mentally shrugged.   
"What about James? I can't just call you the Winter soldier" he flinched at the name and Darcy inwardly groaned. Probably not a good idea to be calling a former POW by his Hydra codename.   
"Yeah. James is fine" his voice was even more gravelly that time, like he was holding something back, biting out just the words and attempting to hold in the emotion. She nodded again at him, catching his eyes before sliding her hand slowly and carefully across the table to land on his wrist. His hard, very metal wrist, that she had completely forgotten about and was covered in layers of clothing to try to disguise. His eyes drifted slowly down her arm and to her hand resting on his, before moving them equally as slowly back up to her face. His expression had fallen to a flat, carefully neutral. She knew the expression, had seen it on Nat's face once or twice, it was something that would make most people run for the hills, seeing the obvious threat behind the careful blankness, but Darcy wasn't going to let it fool her. Or that's what she told herself anyway, in reality, she was probably just too dumb. So instead of moving her hand back, she curled her fingers loosely around his wrist and started petting the fabric of his coat, lightly, but with enough pressure to be felt through the layers.   
She watched as his body slowly started to deflate, his tense shoulders loosening until he was leaning against the back of the booth, looking almost relaxed. Darcy could see right through that too. He was still ready for anything, just not coiled so tightly he could spring at any second anymore.   
The corners of his lips ticked up into something resembling a smile, a smile that Darcy was sure would have been devastatingly handsome.   
"So, what's your name? Somehow I'm highly doubting it's "Max"" he reached over and flicked the name tag pinned to her uniform, his blue eyes twinkling delightfully at her, even as his smile dropped down from his face. Her smile got bigger and the momentary display of personality.   
"It's Darcy" she whispered, knowing his superior hearing could pick it up easily "but just call me Max around other people. No one else knows". 

"MAX! Your break is over, stop being lazy and flirting and get back to work!" Han yelled from across the room, walking away while grumbling something probably not so nice under his breath. Darcy rolled her eyes before getting to her feet.   
"Hey, Caroline, are the mice learning to talk? I could have sworn I just hear that one say something" she called out toward Han's back.   
She bent down, leaning over the table to whisper in James' ear, watching with a slightly amused smile as his eyes flashed down to her display of cleavage.   
"If you need a place to stay, my window's always unlocked. Just don't wake Caroline up. She screams like a banshee"

She tried not to be too disappointed when there was a distinct lack of super-soldier in her bed in the morning. She really did. But she couldn't quite bite back the feeling of disappointment settling over her chest, which of course, brought on the stupid feeling of guilt. The man had been tortured for over 70 years! And here she was, a little over 3 months after he finally escaped, flirting with him and inviting him into her bed and then having the nerve to be disappointed that he didn't take her up on her offer. Darcy had always been brash and crude, but it seemed like these last few years living as max had been taking more of a toll on her than she thought.   
"What is going on, Max?" Caroline had her cornered in the kitchen, her arms crossed over her chest and one Louboutin shoe tapping annoyingly against the tile of the kitchen floor. Darcy just raised an eyebrow at her with an expectant look on her face.   
"Max," she began "you're working right now. Like actually working. And being a good waitress. It's weird, we all think so." She waved her hand over toward the pick up window where she could see Han and earl trying to sneakily listen in on their conversation, with Oleg on their side, not even pretending to not be listening. "And you haven't insulted Han today. At all. You're creeping us all out. Oh, my god. Are you dying, Max?" Caroline clutched at her pearls and moved to the side as Darcy rolled her eyes and pushed through the kitchen door.   
"No. I am not dying, Caroline. And, I mean, now you care? I was legally dead for 2 minutes last time and all you said when I woke up was "oh good, now I don't need to learn how to bake cupcakes". Her gaze was instantly drawn to James', who was staring at her with the corners of his lips tipped up again. It looked more like a grimace than a smile, but the amusement in his eyes was clear enough. He was trying, and it's the thought that counts.   
She strolled up to him as casually as she could knowing all her coworkers were watching her.   
"Hey Tall, Dark, and Handsome. Can I get you something?" She sent him a flirty smile and a wink and this time his answering smile looked less like a grimace and more like a real smile.   
"Just some coffee, doll" it took him a few seconds to process his own words before a look of shock bloomed across his face. Darcy put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.   
"Coming right up."

He was back again the next day. And the next. And the next. And every time Darcy made it a point to go out of her way to take care of him, despite him never being sat in her section.   
Every time he saw her he called her doll or sweetheart. It was a habit now. He smiled softly at her now, the expression looking natural on his face. She pretended not to notice him following them home after closing down the dessert bar for the night. She knew that he was aware she noticed him, but neither of them brought it up.   
The man was a world class assassin, the best alive, if he didn't want her to notice him, she wouldn't have.   
Still, it was a surprise when she woke in the middle of the night to a hulking figure in the shadows of her room. Darcy's training kicked in like it was unaware of the years she'd practically ignored it. She was out of her bed and pressing his back into the wall, with a knife to his throat in less time than she'd normally take to wake up. This close, the shadows no longer kept his face hidden and Darcy heaved a long sigh of relief at the sight of him. She relaxed the knife and let the tension drain from her body, leaning into him a bit where he was still shoved against the wall.   
"Sorry, didn't mean to startle ya, doll" he whispered into the quiet air.   
"No, no, you're fine. Sorry, I, ya know, threatened you" she said, waving the knife in the air like he needed a reminder that she'd just had it pressed against his throat. He shrugged and Darcy realized she could feel the movement with how close to him she was. She remembered she was in nothing other than her undies and a large T-shirt as she felt a chill up her bare legs. She let out a tiny, nervous giggle and backed up. She swung her arm out at the room and said "make yourself at home" before stepping back to the bed and crawling in, trying not to flash her undies at him. She watched him take another careful step into her room, like he was afraid of scaring her again. His socked feet making no noise on the wooden floor.   
"Where are your shoes?" She couldn't see much in the dark of the room, but she could very clearly make out the white of his socks. He shrugged again.   
"Left them outside the window." He came closer, sitting down gently on the very edge of the bed and setting down his backpack against the wall before turning slightly to look at her. Darcy was laying on her side, completely cuddled up in her blankets, just watching him. He was wrapped up in the same multiple layers he always wore. Regular t shirt, long sleeved shirt, and baggy hoodie on top. His hair was still long, hanging limply in his face, looking like it needed a good wash and trim, beard scraggly and overgrown. Overall, he looked homeless. Hot, but homeless. And she wondered when the last time he'd slept was. His eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles under them. He looked exhausted, which she guessed why was he was here.   
"Where have you been staying?" She asked. She probably shouldn't. Should just go back to sleep and let him get comfortable, but she couldn't help it. There was something about him that made her protective instincts rear their ugly heads and demand justice from everyone who'd ever done this man wrong.   
"Been on the move. Abandoned buildings mostly. Broke into a few empty houses during the day for showers and laundry" at least that explained why even though he looks homeless, he certainly didn't smell homeless.   
"You gave me the idea" he continued, the corner of his mouth ticking up involuntarily. She beamed at him.   
"It was intentional. You didn't seem like you were gonna take me up on my offer" she shrugged the one shoulder that she wasn't laying on and burrowed further into the blankets. She snaked one hand out of the blankets and patted the bed next to her.   
"C'mon handsome. You look exhausted. Let's get some sleep". He looked reluctantly at the space in the bed and she could practically see his internal debate and thought for a minute that he was going to get up and bolt. But he surprised her by nodding his head slightly and slowly scooting farther onto the bed. He laid himself down gently on top of the blankets, body practically hanging half off the side. Darcy rolled her eyes before closing them and shifting to get more comfortable.   
She was almost completely asleep when she heard his quiet whispered "Darcy?"   
"Mmm," she replied, cracking open her eyes slightly, unable to focus on him.   
"Why do you have a horse in your backyard?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is smut in this, at the very end of the chapter.   
> I want to apologize in advance for it. This is my first time writing smut. I feel like the chapter ends weird, but sex makes me uncomfortable (greysexual), so I struggled with writing it and didn’t know what to do after. 😂  
> I also wrote this at 3 in the morning, so sorry if it doesn’t make much sense. This is not beta read and I only skimmed for errors once.

Darcy woke up again to a distinct lack of super-soldier in her bed and for a moment started to think she'd dreamt the whole thing up. Before she could convince herself she was going crazy, the sun glinted off the metal of the knife she had pressed against James' throat the night before. She stared at it for a second before crawling over the bed toward where it was resting on the nightstand. Absolutely not where she had left it last night. On top of it was a small, brightly colored square of paper. A post-it note stuck to the blade. In the exact middle, in a surprisingly elegant script, was one word. Just one.   
Thanks.   
She snatched the post-it note up off the knife and slid that into the drawer of her nightstand. She suddenly had to fight the urge to hold the stupid little piece of paper to her chest. Like it was a love letter from a crush.   
"You are Max Black, not Darcy Lewis" she mumbled to herself quietly, shoving the note back onto the table and scooting across the bed. "You need to stop acting like a lovesick fool over a brainwashed super-spy-sassian who you barely know and who barely even knows himself". She was acting ridiculous. Max would never act this way. Right? But wasn't she Max? It was too early for thinking. 

Three weeks went by. Every night he snuck into her room, every night he reclined halfway on the bed, and every morning he was gone before she woke up. Him sneaking in was so commonplace now that she barely even woke up when he came in through the window. Only waking enough to blink at the blurry red numbers of her alarm clock and move over to let the assassin stalking across her room have space in her bed. Which would have been weird, but he wasn't the first assassin she'd shared a bed with a probably wouldn't be the last. At least the others had had the grace to not disappear first thing in the morning like they were waking up from a drunken one night stand. (Which Darcy was also very familiar with, but that wasn't something she was gonna admit to).

He came in to the diner earlier than usual one day, not exactly looking rested, but not looking quite as exhausted as previous days. At this point, she didn't even need to take his order, she already had it in and being made the moment he walked through the door. He was no longer surprised by her greeting him with food he didn't order, but it was food, so he never complained. He was, however, surprised when she once again slid into the booth opposite him, something she hadn't done since their first meeting. She once again had a cup of coffee clutched in her hands, but she wasn't nervous this time, not like she was the first time. She slid the extra coffee cup across the table to him and smiled at him, a beaming smile that he felt he didn't deserve.   
"Hey James" she greeted, her smile growing wider at his mumbled "hey doll" response.  
"You know it's rude to sneak out of a gal's bed in the early hours of the morning, right?" She said lowly, speaking into her coffee cup as she took a sip. Speaking here, in the diner, was never a good idea. Though the weeks that had gone by had shown her she'd never be able to predict when they'd have a moment to actually talk. Plus, his hearing was excellent. She could probably whisper to him from across the room and he'd still hear it or something. She'd have to remember to ask him sometime.  
He blushed slightly at her words, eyes sinking down to the table in front of them.   
"Sorry, doll." He shrugged, offering no explanation to his early departures. She offered him a smile and wink anyway as she sat back, content to sip her coffee with him in silence. She wouldn't push him, he'd dealt with enough in his life, he deserved to do what he wanted. 

She woke up fully that night, as his socked feet hit the floor inside her window, enough to put her on edge. She was tense and ready as she watched the shadows until he stepped into the room just enough that she could see his profile. She felt all the tension drain out of her body at the sight of James, at being able to confirm it was really him sneaking into her room and not someone else, like her sudden anxiety had been telling her.   
She rolled over in the bed, leaving him the space closest to the door without a word. He nodded toward her in thanks while setting his back pack against the wall again. He once again laid down on top of the blankets, halfway sitting up against the headboard and body fully tense.   
"I could stay up, if you want me to. If it would help you sleep" Darcy whispered almost sleepily, from where she was practically cocooned within her blankets. She hadn't offered since that first week, but something compelled her to offer again tonight. James shook his head at her as he scooted down to lay fully on the bed.   
"No. It's okay, go back to sleep, Doll" he whispered back, forcing his body to relax and sink more fully into the bed. She didn't reply, just watched him staring at the ceiling until her eyelids grew too heavy to keep open, blurring her vision and forcing her to blink rapidly to stay awake.   
It felt like only minutes, but the next time she opened her eyes, the dim light of the sunrise was streaming through her windows, completely illuminating the man laying next to her in bed. He was still on his back, but sometime during the night he'd shed his bulky sweatshirt and gloves. Leaving just one metal hand uncovered under his long sleeved t-shirt, hand laying just inches away from her own, as if they had fallen asleep holding hands. His eyes were finally closed, his breathing deep and even, telling Darcy that he was still asleep. The lines of his face were relaxed in a way she'd never seen before and he suddenly looked so much younger, less haunted, in sleep.   
She tried not to move, but she couldn't help herself from shifting closer to him, pushing herself up on her forearms so she could see him more clearly. She recognized the moment he woke up at her movement, though his breathing stayed consistent and his eyes remained shut.   
"You're so beautiful" she practically blurted, in true Darcy Lewis fashion, through hushed tones so she didn't wake Caroline in the other room. The corners of his mouth ticked up in what passed for a smile from him as he shook his head minutely.   
"I used to be." He whispered, eyes still closed "Could charm just about anyone outta anything with the hair, the eyes, the smile. Used to sweet talk the grocer's wife outta some sweets for Becca every few weeks. The grocer wasn't too pleased when he found out, but then Stevie batted those pretty lashes at 'em and he practically stumbled over 'imself. Was always cute to watch.   
Stevie was worse than me, by the way. There wasn't an old lady in Brooklyn that Stevie couldn't charm with those big blue eyes and pretty lashes of his. Helped that he was barely 5'5" and so skinny that a good breeze coulda knocked him right on over." His voice was rough from sleep and he sounded like he almost slurred through a few words, an accent she'd never heard from him showing through here and there. All in all, it was absolutely adorable and she couldn't hold back her grin.   
"He had all the little old ladies on the block fooled." He continued before she could say anything, eyes still closed. "The little punk couldn't ever keep his mouth shut, always getting in fights, acting like he was so much bigger and tougher than he was. I was always dragging his ass outta back alley fights. But all those ladies thought Stevie was an angel. Never woulda believed he was half the trouble maker he was." His smile was larger, more genuine.   
"So, He was like a chihuahua then? Like the personification of the words "fight me"?" She joked, putting her fists up and bouncing lightly, pretending to throw a few shallow punches like a boxer. James's eyes cracked open slightly at the movement and he watched her with amusement.   
"Exactly" he confirmed, letting out a deep chuckle that Darcy swore rattled right through her entire body.   
"Max! Do you have a boy in there?" Caroline's voice drifted in from the living room and Darcy tensed slightly, but surprisingly, James didn't react at all to the sudden interruption.   
"Suppose I should get goin' then" he said, still whispering, even though Caroline had clearly heard them talking.   
"Eh, don't worry about it. We've already been caught. You may as well hang around. Go hop in the shower while I make us breakfast" she said, patting James on the arm before jumping up out of bed and pulling open the bedroom door.   
"Yes, mom, I do have a boy in here. Am I grounded?" She sassed from the doorway. Caroline was standing next to her bed in her pink flannel pjs, eye mask still perched on her head.   
"You might be if you don't go put pants on, god Max! How many times do I have to tell you that? I am so not okay with you walking around pants less" she turned back around to finish making her bed and put it away as Darcy turned back around. Just in time to see James reclining on her bed, gaze very clearly locked on to her bare legs and the little bit of underwear peaking out from under the oversized t shirt she wore to bed. She gave him a cheeky grin and a wink and got a twitch of his lips in response.  
"Come on, hot stuff, there might actually be warm water this early in the morning." She said as she slid a pair of shorts over her butt before disappearing out the bedroom door and into the kitchen.

"Soooo. Who's your man friend?" Caroline asked, leaning against the counter and watching her as she started getting ingredients for omelets out of the fridge. God, it was nice to have enough money for food again. Darcy turned and dumped her armful of ingredients on the counter next to where Caroline was and looked toward the bedroom. The door was still wide open, but James hadn't followed her out. She mentally shrugged, and went back to fixing breakfast.   
"James, honey, you still in there? If you snuck out the window without letting me know I'm gonna be pissed. I am not wasting all these eggs." Darcy called toward the empty doorway. She giggled when a contrite looking James stepped through the outside door to the kitchen, looking slightly ashamed that he got caught sneaking out.  
"Sorry" he said, quietly.   
"That's what I thought" she nodded in satisfaction. Natasha had always tried to sneak out before Darcy could ever do any nice things for her too. The Russian assassins were very very similar. She tried to keep her smile from faltering at the thought but knew that James had seen the momentary slip. His gaze turned questioning and she shook her head at him, gesturing toward Caroline who was staring at him wide eyed.  
"Caroline, this is James, James, this is Caroline. I know you've seen each other around the diner" she stirred the eggs together in a bowl as she spoke. They turned to look at each other and nodded at each other.   
"Yeaaah" Caroline breathed out, eyes whipping from James to her. Darcy winced slightly at the look on the other woman's face. Caroline had teased her a bit for her weird attachment to the "hot hobo" and Darcy knew she was winding up to either yell at her for bringing the obviously dangerous man into the house or for seemingly seducing him without letting Caroline know her intentions.   
"Bathroom's right over there, James" Darcy said, pointing her chin in the direction of the bathroom as if he didn't already know the layout of every apartment in the building. "I'll bring you a clean towel in a minute."   
He nodded his head again, with a small grunt of agreement and then disappeared into her tiny bathroom. Caroline narrowed her eyes but waited until the shower turned on before she said anything.   
"When did this happen?" She finally asked, trying to go with an air of casualness. Darcy shrugged. Caroline mimicked her and shrugged too. Darcy sighed, feeling the passive aggressive stare seeping into her skin.   
"Look. It isn't what you think, okay? He's a friend of a friend who needs a place to crash." The other woman raised an eyebrow at her skeptically.   
"A friend of a friend?" She questioned in a vaguely monotone voice. "Who happens to be sharing your bed and not sleeping on the couch?"  
"Well. He's a friend now. And I figured you'd be more comfortable with him in my room over him on the couch 3 feet from your bed." She pointed a finger in triumph as Caroline floundered for a second, trying to think of an argument but Darcy continued. "He's a vet, he's having a hard time and I want to try to make it as easy on him as possible."   
Caroline threw her hands up in defeat as Darcy won the argument.   
"Fine. But I want to be the first to know when you guys officially start dating. And I'm calling it now that you will" she spun on her heel toward the laundry basket in the corner.   
"Come on, Max. Go bring your man a towel."   
Darcy stomped toward her, ripping the towel out of her hands and practically slamming the bathroom door behind her. 

"I won that fight, why am I the one so angry?" She muttered to herself.   
"Because she doesn't believe you that we aren't a couple?" James's voice was soft, almost too soft to be heard over the shower, and it was almost sharp with some emotion Darcy couldn't quite figure out.   
"Naw. That doesn't bother me. She can think what she wants" she plopped down on the toilet seat, settling the towel in her lap and tossing her feet up to rest on the lip of the tub.   
"Then why are you angry?" The water turned off. Darcy held the towel up, expecting him to reach a hand out of the curtains to grab it from her. Instead he ripped open the curtains, which she absolutely was not expecting, and stood there, naked and dripping water. Watching her and waiting for her answer. She didn't realize that though, as her brain had officially turned to mush the second the curtain was opened.   
All she could do was stare, open mouthed, as she took in every single muscle on his body, watching the water droplets drip from his hair and run lazily down his throat, onto his chest, down his abs, and further. The metal of the arm glinted in the light when he shifted to take the towel that she was still holding up to him. His eyes never left her face as she studied the contours of his body.  
She forced her eyes back up his body and off the decidedly delicious width of his thighs, and found his gaze just as intent as always, no hint that her seeing him affected him in anyway. Meanwhile, Darcy felt like she was going to need an ice bath to keep herself from jumping him. She had to swallow multiple times as her mouth had gone completely dry.   
"I don't know" she breathed out, though she wasn't sure she even remembered what their conversation had been about. He frowned at her, as if just now realizing she seemed preoccupied.   
Darcy shot up off the toilet seat at the same time he stepped out of the tub, effectively blocking her escape route with his incredibly wide, incredibly well defined chest. Which she almost ran straight into. He raised an eyebrow at her and moved slightly to the side so she could squeeze past, her chest just barely brushing against his as she went.

She'd never found it harder to act unaffected as she did after that, the image of his naked body seared into her brain, flashing through her thoughts as they ate breakfast that morning. Then all through her shift at the diner, then all through her shift at the dessert bar. Then on the walk home, when she saw him just on the edge of a building a block up, popping up on their route home in random places to let Darcy know he was there, it flashed through her mind again.   
God damn it. 

Her eyes opened to see dark grey staring back at her. She blinked. He blinked. His smile turned cheeky as she laughed and ruffled his hair, trying to ignore the feeling of how soft it was, trying to ignore how much she wanted to fist her hands in that hair and pull his mouth to hers. She blinked again in surprise at herself and sat up in the bed, hearing James turn over on his back beside her. She looked over to watch him staring at the ceiling, the blankets pooled around his hips, his bare chest on display.   
It was a new thing, one she was simultaneously thankful for and hated. It had taken him weeks just to feel comfortable laying fully on her bed, but had only been 2 weeks after that he'd started stripping down to his underwear and sleeping fully under the covers, snuggling in like he trusted that nothing bad was going to happen. She loved it. She loved how he was comfortable enough to wake up in the morning and take a shower without her prompting, loved that he was comfortable enough to eat with her and Caroline, or sit on the couch and watch tv. The fact that he no longer jumped when the delivery guy brought up their food. How he no longer followed behind them on nights he felt anxious, instead he'd show up at the dessert bar, order a drink or two, and then walk home with them.   
She could feel him relaxing, could see his personality blossoming in a way she didn't expect over the last few months. He was sarcastic and cheeky and she loved it.   
But god was it doing terrible things to her insides. She caught herself touching him all the time, caught herself wanting to touch him in less platonic ways. Her libido was shot. She felt like she was in a constant state of arousal and it was driving her crazy.   
The nights they had nightmares were the worst. She wake from hers whimpering and soaked in sweat, with his arms around her and his hands rubbing her back or carding through her hair and she'd fall back asleep still in his arms, and wake up in the morning pressed against him.   
When he had nightmares it was usually about the cold, or flashes of violence and blood. She'd run her hands through his hair as he flailed around, but he'd made it very clear she wasn't allowed to touch him in any other way until he'd woken up and she was absolutely sure he was lucid. Then he'd clutch onto her and cry himself back to sleep, holding her like she was the only thing keeping him clinging onto the earth. They'd wake up tangled up in each other, both sleep deprived and emotionally rung out and they'd spend as long as they could just holding each other. It was never an issue in the moment, but the next day, waking up buried in his arms, was always torturous.   
The feel of his skin against hers was officially and forever etched into her brain and she felt like the shittiest person alive for wanting more.  
"Hey doll, what's the matter?" He asked, shifting to see her more properly. She shrugged. She needed to get laid, not that she could tell him that. Though having him offer would solve a whole lot of her problems. Especially the one she had where she was absolutely in love with him. She groaned and tossed herself backwards on the bed, closing her eyes and cursing herself for her stupid damned feelings. Ugh, feelings.   
"Come on, Doll." James slid closer, pulling her limp body up off the bed and into his lap. "Tell me what's wrong". Darcy continued to lay across his lap awkwardly, trying, and failing, to play dead. Or asleep. Or whatever.   
His hands moved slowly up her bare legs, pads of his fingers just barely brushing against her skin. She shivered slightly, relaxing at the feeling as his hand brushed up under her shirt and over her hips, coming to a stop at her waist. His fingers pressing gently against her skin. He leaned over her body, his mouth brushing against her ear and whispered "don't make me tickle you" so low it was mostly mouthed against her skin. She tensed at his words, but must have taken too long to react because the next thing she knew he was flexing his fingers and digging them just a bit harder into her sides. She flew up with a strangled laugh, almost head butting him right in the face as he ducked out of her way. She squealed and jerked, wiggling around in his lap, trying to get away.   
When he finally let her push him over they were both breathing hard with their laughter, their chests brushing together with their exhales from where Darcy was laying sprawled on top of James, the blankets tangled around their feet. The laughter quieted slowly as they made eye contact.   
It was always so intense, looking into his eyes. He had a way of focusing his attention, making Darcy feel like she was drowning. She thought she'd get used to it, thought maybe the intensity would fade with the new found personality. But it never did. She knew, somewhere in the back of her mind, that she should move. It was time to move. To get up and get dressed, to make breakfast and go about her day like she wasn't in love with the man she had pinned beneath her. She was going to, she swears she was going to, when his hand came up to push a lock of hair behind her ear.   
"You're so beautiful" he whispered, not quite wanting to break the peaceful silence of the room. He dropped his hand to her face, dragging the pads of his fingers over the curve of her cheek, running his thumb over her lips, before bringing his hand to the back of her neck. He tangled his fingers in the hair at the nape of her neck and just stared at her, gaze questioning. She wasn't sure what he was trying to wordlessly ask, but he must have found enough of an answer because then he was pulling her face down to his and kissing her softly, hesitatingly, like he was waiting for her to pull back.   
His lips were soft on hers and she groaned. It only took her seconds to move from completely sprawled out over him to straddling him as she kissed him back. The intensity of the kiss increased exponentially once they both realized this was exactly what the other wanted.   
It became hot and greedy, their kiss, a mess of tongues and teeth as they bit and licked into each others mouth. James groaned under her and bucked his hips up gently, causing Darcy to moan into his mouth as he rubbed against her. His hands latched onto her hips as she ground herself down on him, fingers flexing and pressing sharply into her skin as he pulled her down toward him harder.   
"Oh dear god" she whimpered as his lips trailed over her throat, licking and sucking and biting into her skin. She managed to push him away just enough to sit up a bit more and tear her shirt off, enjoying the way he went slack jawed at the bare skin she revealed. He glanced up at her face for a moment, licked his lips unconsciously, then dove right into her chest. He buried his face in her breasts and immediately found one nipple, moving his metal hand from her hips to tweak the opposite one.  
"Oh god" she whimpered again, tangling her fingers in his hair and holding his face to her as she circled her hips against his.   
"Please, James" even she wasn't exactly sure what she was whining for, but he didn't waste any time literally ripping the underwear right off her body, lifting her off him just enough to fit his metal hand between them. He slid his fingers through her wetness, flicking over her clit a few times before sliding two fingers inside her. She moaned again, clutching onto his shoulders as she moved over his fingers, his thumb coming up to press against her clit.   
She grabbed his face and pulled him into a sloppy kiss, moaning into his mouth as she came. She continued to kiss him hard, biting his lip and pulling slightly. As soon as he removed his fingers she was helping him shove his boxers down his hips and grabbing him, sliding a hand down his length, enjoying the feel of him in her hand. He groaned softly as she sat back, his head bumping against her wetness, but she was only teasing him, sliding herself over his length with her eyes halfway closed, breath hitching every time she made another pass at her clit. He jerked his hips up as she made another pass, his breath catching as the head disappeared into her. She made a surprised noise but let out a breathy laugh as she adjusted and sank down onto him. He clutched at her hips again as she circled her hips in small thrusts, working him slowly inside of her. It'd been a while since she'd had sex and he was big, so even with her previous orgasm she figured it was still best to go slow at first. Finally he was seated fully inside of her and she took a minute to collect herself. She pushed herself up from where she'd been leaning against his chest and sat straight up on top of him, eyes closed, memorizing the feel of him inside of her.   
"God you feel good" he whispered, eyes glued to the spot where their bodies connected as she started moving her hips in tiny circles again, leaning back over him slightly to get a good angle. His hips jumped slightly beneath her, like he wanted nothing more than to just slam himself into her, which was a feeling she agreed with, even as she kept up her slow pace. She alternated between shallow thrusts, moving until just the head was still her and then only going halfway down and, still slowly, and slamming herself back against him until he was completely inside of her. The feeling of him dragging against her insides slowly was almost enough to make her come again, even without the clitoral stimulation. She increased her speed incrementally, until James's breath was coming in short pants, his metal hand fisted into the sheet with the effort it was taking him to keep from moving, to let her drive him crazy.   
She dragged her hand over his chest, pinching his nipples and feeling his hips buck under hers again. She kept one hand on his nipple, the other moving down his body, to the spot where their bodies met. She watched him crack his eyes open curiously, as he watched her trail her hand up her thigh, then up her stomach, to cup one heavy breast in her hand and pinch her own nipple the same way she was doing to him. Then he sat up on his forearms now in rapt attention as she trailed her hand back down her body to her clit, circling it in tempo with her thrusts, before speeding up more. She pushed him as far into her body as he could get, over and over, loving the heavy feel of him dragging over all the right spots as she moved her fingers even faster against her clit, her hips speeding up her thrusts to keep time. Her eyes slid shut as she came, hips bucking wilding against his as he thrust to meet her. She dropped against his chest, gasping at the new angle and wiggling down on him farther as he continued to thrust up into her, prolonging her orgasm with every thrust pushing against her clit. The third orgasm took her completely by surprise as she hadn't even completely come down from the second yet and she bit James's neck to keep from shouting. Her last orgasm was the most intense, her walls closing up around him and squeezing like her body was trying to keep him there. He managed two more thrusts before he was clutching her, groaning into her hair as he spilled inside her.  
They collapsed together against the bed, both breathing hard and laughing just slightly.   
“I should have kissed you months ago” he laughed, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face into her hair.   
“Damn right you should have.” She agreed, tilting her head up to once again catch his lips  
with hers.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky get high  
> Darcy gets punished  
> I love you’d are said

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, there’s more smut in this chapter, and will be more in a few of the following chapters. However I think it’ll be sprinkled in sparingly. It’s just way too hard for me to write it!   
> There will be very light BDSM themes in some of the smut. I honestly am not sure this counts as light BDSM and if I ever (now or in the future) get any of the BDSM stuff wrong feel free to correct me! I’m about as vanilla as it comes and as I’ve mentioned before, sex makes me feel awkward. Lol.  
> The muses have been leaving me high and dry lately and if any of you have read some of my other stories I’m sure you are aware that I have depression issues. I’ve very recently started new depression and anxiety meds and have my very first appointment with a therapist next week!   
> Life has been kicking my butt lately, but I’m trying to push through and get some content out for you, but I apologize in advance if this doesn’t get updated often. I’ve been doing physical therapy 3 times a week, now I’m waiting for an MRI before I’m scheduled for surgery sometime within the next 90 days, but until then I have to deal with being in constant pain.   
> AND my husband cheated on me. Which is stupid because we’re Poly! All he had to freaking do was tell me and I would have been literally ENCOURAGING him! So that sucks too.   
> Anyway, lol, here’s the chapter. I just finished it like 10 minutes ago, so it hasn’t been edited much. So sorry for any errors!!

The back door swung open dramatically to reveal a smiling, practically bouncy, James Barnes.   
"Morning, Doll" He smirked and winked at her before walking over to wrap his arms around her waist where Darcy was standing, mixing that morning's cupcake batter. Han had finally convinced her to start bringing cupcakes back to the diner. He'd been bugging her about it for weeks and since her cupcakes were one of the only actual edible things they sold, she gave in. She snorted and blew a strand out of her hair before turning to him.   
"How high are you right now?"   
"Pretty high" he admitted. She'd accidentally gotten him high a few weeks ago when he ate one of her "special" cupcakes. They'd spent a good twenty minutes freaking out, waiting to see how it affected him. He was terrified of reverting back to the soldier, terrified of hurting her or Caroline. But after the freaking out they realized that not only was he fine, the high had already faded. They found out it took a whole lot of weed to affect him that very same day, when he ate half a dozen of the cupcakes. And that he was a very emotional, very affection person while buzzed.   
"You know, I don't think remember giving you a key to that door, mister" she sassed, leaning her head back on his shoulder and staring up at him.   
"Who says I need a key?" He smirked, dropping a kiss onto her forehead and bumping her nose with his playfully.   
"You break that door handle and you're buying me a new one. A door, not just a handle." She told him as she went back to mixing her batter, wiggling in his arms to loosen them slightly so she could move around easier. He kept his arms locked loosely around her waist.   
"Something wrong with the door that you need an entire new one, Doll?" His eyebrow was raised at her, head cocked to the side. She couldn't see him anymore, but at this point she knew his mannerisms backwards and forewords.   
She shrugged.   
"Locks been broken for a few years now and the wood's rotted away so it doesn't close right anymore." His arms tightened around her and he spun her in his arms to face him, splattering cupcake batter on them both.  
"Wait. You're telling me that you two girls have been living alone in this crappy apartment in this crappy neighborhood without locks on the doors?" He sounded incredulous, and maybe slightly angry.   
"We have? Max! You told me you got it fixed!" Caroline, however, sounded outraged. Stomping over from where she'd been lounging around on the couch, shoveling popcorn into her mouth.   
"I lied" Darcy shrugged again. Caroline gave an outraged shriek and started flinging popcorn toward her.   
"No! My cupcake batter!" Darcy yelled, leaning over it and trying to Shield it with her body. Darcy screeched as she was unexpectedly picked up and thrown over a hard, muscular shoulder.   
"Caroline, you're gonna wanna head up to Sophie's" Jame's voice was pitched low, dangerous, the sound of it sending a shiver of anticipation down Darcy's back. Caroline groaned in complaint but stomped back over to the couch, collecting her phone and iPad and tossing on her slippers before slipping out of the apartment while muttering about how going to Sophie's wasn't gonna keep her from hearing anything anyway.   
James waited until Caroline was up the stairs before he turned and marched into their bedroom, dumping her down unceremoniously onto the bed. He stared menacingly at her for a few seconds before slowly slipping out of his jacket, then tugging the leather gloves off his hands. Next came the sweatshirt and finally the long sleeved shirt, leaving his muscular chest and arms bare for her to ogle at.   
She could feel herself heating up as he watched her, staring straight into her eyes as he undressed.  
"You drive me absolutely crazy" He practically growled as he grabbed onto one of her ankles and pulled her to the edge of the bed. He tore the clothes right off her body, not even paying attention to her protests about him destroying more clothes. He flipped her over easily, positioning her with her knees on the very edge of the bed and her bare ass in the air. James ran his hand lightly up and down her thighs. Up the outside, over the curve of her ass, and then down the inside. Over and over again, getting closer and loser to her center each time until he was lightly brushing over her in just the right spot making her muscles tense with the effort it took to stay still.   
He dropped to his knees behind her, patting the insides of her legs to get her to widen her stance until she was in the perfect position for him. This time when his skin touched hers it was his cheek, skimming up the inside of her thigh. His tongue darted out, lightly brushing against her opening and he moaned in bliss.  
"You taste so good, Darce." He complimented her, before going back to what he was doing, flicking his tongue so lightly against her clit she could barely feel it. He put two of his metal fingers right at her entrance, just deep enough to feel, but not deep enough to be satisfying.  
Her legs were trembling with the need to move, to push back into him and increase the pressure of his tongue on her. But she somehow resisted, knowing he'd stop if she moved before he wanted her to. Her hands clutched the sheets beneath her, face pressed into the bed with her eyes clenched shut while he teased her. All at once, he flattened his tongue against her clit while he shoved his metal fingers deep inside of her. She screeched from the unexpected stimulation, her legs giving out as she came hard on his face and hand. He held her up with an arm around her, adjusting slightly to the new position, but continued to flick his tongue against her while the cool metal of his fingers hit against just the right spot inside of her. She thrust her hips into him, not quite sure if she was trying to get more or trying to get away from the overwhelming sensations.   
When he removed his metal fingers she whined into the mattress, chasing his fingers with her body. But then he was pushing an already lubed up plug into her ass, one of the smaller ones that she could take without much work. She hadn’t even noticed him getting any of her toys out. He sat back, metal hand moving to circle her clit while he looked at her.  
“God, you’re gorgeous” he breathed into the skin of her ass, dropping a kiss on her right cheek before moving up behind her. He adjusted her knees again, still holding her up, and sank into her as soon as she was in place. He moaned lowly, pressing a kiss against her back as he thrust into her shallowly, holding her hips still so she once again couldn’t move. He pulled back, watching as he slid into her and reached out to lightly flick the plug before asking if he could switch to a bigger one. He must have laid it out by them already because as soon as she had nodded her consent he was switching it out. The one he picked was one of her bigger ones, making him pull out most of the way before working it into her slowly, then sinking back in himself once she was settled.  
“You know, I bet you could take both me and Stevie together” he whispered into her ear, working himself deeper with every tiny push of hips, “would you like that darling? Could lay ya out, have Stevie fuck that tight little ass of yours while I fuck your tight little pussy” his words were filthy, and had exactly the effect he wanted as she whined into the bed again before tilting her face up to his.  
“God damn it James! Fuck me!” She practically yelled, trying to push through his hold on her. She knew it was useless. He was much too strong for her, she’d never be able to get out of his hold, and he still didn’t trust himself enough with his strength to be anything but slow and gentle. Which she absolutely adored him for, and he never left her anything but wrung out and sated, but every time he pulled out the dirty talk it made her want nothing more than for him to fuck her right into the mattress. Unless he was talking about him and Steve both, then she wanted nothing more than for both of them to fuck her into the mattress, which she supposed she should feel bad about, since she’d never even met Steve. But the talk of James sharing her with the National Icon that was Captain freaking America seemed to do it for James just as much as it did it for her.  
“Nah uh, Baby, you know better than that” he admonished her while smirking in that way that made her want to kiss him senseless. They were at a bad angle for kissing now, but she still tried, pushing up onto her elbows and twisting around to catch the corner of his lips.   
*

The thrashing on the other side of the bed woke her. It wasn't anything she wasn't used to and by the time she turned over in bed James was sitting up, his face in his hands as his chest heaved with his breaths. There was sweat dripping down his back, his hair plastered to his neck from it. He shot out of bed like a bullet, startling her with how fast he moved. She scrambled after him, only taking enough time to grab his discarded shirt from the day before. She threw it on over her naked body as she ran after him through the living room.  
She found him in the bathroom, kneeling in front of the toilet, sobbing while vomiting.  
"Oh, baby" she whispered, rushing over to his side and pulling his hair out of his face gently. She ran her hands through his hair a few times before pulling it up and securing it with the ponytail holder she always left dangling on her wrist. She'd gotten in the habit of keeping extras on her after the 5th or 6th time James had forgotten to grab one while working out and had tried to steal hers right out of her hair, the brat.  
She sat and rubbed his back in slow, small circles, perching her butt on the lip of the tub behind her. Once he finally slumped over in front of the toilet, seeming to be done, at least for the moment, she ran a wash cloth under warm water.   
"D -" he started to protest weakly as she rubbed the wash cloth over his face, cleaning off the sweat, tears, snot, and vomit from his face.  
"Shhh, baby, just breathe" she cut him off, folding the wash cloth over and starting on the sweat of his back. He nodded his head, the tears running down his face, silently still.   
"Do you want to talk about it?" Sometimes it helped him to talk over his nightmares, sometimes it made it worse, and sometimes he couldn't even remember the reason why he woke up screaming in the night. He shook his head no, but then opened his mouth anyway, no sound coming out until a sob ripped through his chest. She didn't say anything else, just pulled his head to her chest, holding him to her and rubbing his back again.  
Finally he mumbled something into her shoulder, his voice muffled and unintelligible. He repeated himself before she could ask. Saying the words a few times before moving to look into her eyes.  
"He was my friend, D. He was my friend. And I killed him like it was nothing. Nothing." He breath was more steady now, the tears had pretty much stopped. But James's face still showed every little bit of pain he was feeling. Sometimes Darcy was taken by surprise at just how expressive he was, at how easy to read he let himself be. It showed now, how much trust he had in her as she saw the pain in his eyes, they way his face flashed through emotions, like he was fighting to feel them, to show them. Fighting to not just shut down on her. If she hadn't already known she loved this man, that right there would have been enough to make her realize it. It also made her realize just how much he loved her too, even if they'd never said the words to each other. She dropped a kiss on his forehead before putting her forehead against his and closing her eyes.  
"It wasn't you, James. It isn't your fault and it's probably the cruelest thing I've ever seen. The fact that they did awful things and you are the one forced to have the memory of it. You don't deserve it." He shook his head again, pulling away from her.  
"I can still hear Howard saying my name as I pulled him out of the car. Can still hear his wife screaming his name behind us, feel her throat under my hand. My hand. Mine." He looked like he was about to scream, or maybe throw up again, but Darcy was still frozen over the name he'd let slip. They sat in silence for a few tense minutes just staring at each other until James had calmed down again. He reached for Darcy, looking hesitant, like he expected her to pull away. She reached out for him immediately, pulling his hand into her grip and gently urging him back toward her.  
"It wasn't you" she repeated fiercely, trying to drill the words right into his brain. None of this was anything new, but every time she felt such an indescribable anger well up in her that made her want to hunt down every last hydra agent and skin them alive. Usually she could hold down the anger until James was back asleep, but this time she knew it was written all over her face.  
"Go brush your teeth and come back to bed. I'm going to go change the sheets." She told him, getting up and walking toward the door before her anger got the better of her and she started planning out revenge plots. She stopped at the door and twisted to look at him where he was just starting to get up off the floor.  
She turned back and wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing him hard and dropping a kiss in the middle of his back.

Neither of them could get back to sleep. Instead they laid in bed wrapped around each other, holding each other as close as possible. Just focusing on breathing and lazily running their hands over each other. Darcy knew she should have let James take a shower after the nightmare, she could still feel the stickiness of lingering sweat on his skin, but she just couldn't bring herself to allow him out of her arms for the length of time it would take him to shower. Usually after nightmares that bad he'd sit in the shower for an hour or more, but this time it was like he could feel how bad she needed to be close to him.  
He ran his finger tips over every one of her scars, lingering slightly on the few larger ones like if he gave them enough attention they'd tell him the stories behind each one of them. Unlike Jame's relatively unscathed body, her own was littered with marks from her short stint as an agent of Shield and a body guard to one of the most brilliant minds on the planet. Each scar marring her body had a story, some she was less willing to relive than others, so she was grateful he'd never asked.  
"What was Howard like?" She asked softly, running her hands through his hair again. She loved his hair. He took a deep breath and seemed to think for a moment before starting.  
"Annoying" he said, but his mouth was ticked up into a smile anyway.  
"He and the punk fed off each other's recklessness. He was always trying to make new things for Stevie to try out, things that had a habit of exploding" he snorted.  
"But he was a good man. Me and him never really got a long, argued often, but he'd always let me hang out in his lab anyway. Let me ask questions about his work, even if he went about explaining shit to me like I was an idiot for not already knowing. He treated most people like that though, so I never took offense to it." He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a second before shrugging and going back to carefully running his hands over her body. She sighed and tried to scoot her body even closer to his, which was probably impossible.  
"I never got to meet him. He'd died before I was born." He didn't ask why it mattered and they went back to not talking, neither moving as the sun rose.  
The silence lasted long minutes before James moved again, taking a deep breath before opening his mouth.  
“Sometime I think I’m a monster” he whispered, more out into the open room than directed toward her. Her heart clenched in her chest at his words and her eyes snapped open.  
“James-“ he cut her off, shaking his head, this time looking at her.  
“Monsters don’t deserve angels” his eyes fluttered closed with his words and Darcy’s felt them like a punch to the gut. His words bounced around in her head, overlaid by a very feminine voice with very similar words. “Demons don’t deserve angels, Darce”. Her eyes were already stinging and she tried to blink the tears back.  
“If you’re doing what I think you’re doing right now, I will punch you in the dick, James Barnes” She managed to get the words out without any sobs, but the tears had broken through now. James tilted his head up again to catch her eyes. His own were blurry with tears when he saw hers streaming down her cheeks. He shook his head again, cupping her face in his hands and wiping her tears away with his thumbs.   
“No” he shook his head again “No, Doll, I don’t think I could.” He pushed their foreheads together, brushing his nose against hers as he took a few more deep breaths.  
“No. Sometimes...” he paused again, his words trailing off, “Sometimes I think I’m a monster. But then I look at you. And you’re smiling, and laughing, and looking at me with such love that I think, maybe, just maybe I’m not the monster I feel like.” His eyes were boring into hers with such intensity that she almost felt like she had to look away. Instead she moved, shifting onto her back and pulling at his shoulders as she did. Like usual he seemed to instinctively know exactly what she wanted and shifted with her, nestling into the space between her legs like he belonged there. Her hands came up to cradle his face as he sank into her and she wiped the stray tear off his face in the same way he had done for her.   
“I do, you know. Love you, that is” she whispered into his lips as he swept down to kiss her. It was the most gentle and sweet kiss she’d ever had. It made her feel like she was in danger of melting into a pile of goo right there on the bed. He smiled against her lips, before moving back just enough to whisper back.  
“I love you too, Darcy.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James takes a bath  
> The girls have a night out  
> Caroline gets drunk  
> Darcy is a badass  
> Natasha is sweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the muses must have heard me trash talking them on Tuesday cause I sat down that day and wrote out the next 3 chapters. So, thank you muses!
> 
> I finally have my MRI scheduled for in two weeks! YAY! So hopefully surgery will come sooner than May and I can actually find out what it’s like to live without pain (after physical therapy, of course).
> 
> SO, Happy Valentine’s Day! Here’s another chapter.

The apartment was quiet when he walked in. Much more quiet than he was used to. It automatically put him on the defensive and he pulled out one of his guns while he took his first few tentative steps through the door. Nothing looked amiss.

He silently moved through the apartment, checking first the bathroom, then the little space Caroline used as a closet, before moving through to the bedroom, checking the closet and behind the door before finally letting his muscles relax minutely at the assurance that no one was in the apartment.

He'd noticed the pile of the clothes neatly folded on the bed when he walked in, but had passed them by in favor of making sure the room was clear. He pushed his gun back into the holster and moved to the bed, unfolding the paper on top of the pile.

_James,_

_Me and Caroline need a girls night. We're going bar hopping, you're welcome to come keep watch but I promised Caroline it would be just me and her, so don't let her see you._

_Just in case you don't want to babysit for the night, here's some new clothes I splurged on. They're the softest ever and I figured you'd love them._

_P.s. I may or may not have "accidentally" turned off the hot water to every apartment except our own. Go take a long hot bath._

The note was signed by a mark of bright red lips from where Darcy had kissed the paper rather than signing her name. He smiled at it, refolded it and tucked it into the backpack that he had stashed under the bed.

It was Wednesday night, and a small, selfish part of him was sad that they had left, leaving their Wednesday night routine to just him. It'd started months ago. Wednesday was the only day they had a week where the girls were off all day. Weekend nights were for the dessert bar, most days were for the diner. But Wednesdays were for chores, shopping, and fun. And somehow they always found themself squished onto the little couch, Darcy cuddled up into his side with his metal arm around her waist and Caroline reclining on her small section of the couch with her legs over their laps. They'd fought over the remote the first night, each putting something on before the other put something else on, bickering around him until he'd stolen the remote himself and put something random on the TV. He hadn't known what it was, but by the end of the episode he'd been cracking up laughing, with the girls joining him. And that started their tradition of spending Wednesday nights watching _The Fresh Prince of Bel-air_ while Caroline tried to claim as much of the couch as humanly possible.

On bad nights, when Caroline was feeling particularly down, she'd lay with her legs over the arm of the couch, head cushioned on his lap while Darcy reached over him and combed her hand through Caroline's hair. Those nights, it was almost a sure thing that Caroline would fall asleep on them and Darcy would pull her bed down James would gather her up in his arms and deposit her on her bed, tucking the blankets over her in the same way his mom used to do to him and his sisters. He'd paused one night, watching her sleeping face a little longer than normal.

"I hope you aren't falling for my roommate there, buddy" Darcy'd laughed, wrapping her arms around him from behind. He'd chuckled and shook his head.

"Naw," he whispered, turning in her arms to pull her closer to him, "I've never had kids, but on nights when I tuck her in, I feel a surge of parental protectiveness, I think."

Darcy eyed him for a moment, seemingly weighing the truth of his words before busting out into laughter. She'd laughed every time she saw him and Caroline near each other for the next week.

They'd been laying on the couch one day, James had his feet propped up on the coffee table and Caroline leaning against him and complaining about her new manicure. Darcy was in the kitchen and couldn't stop laughing, it would die off and then she'd look at them again and it would come over her again.

Until James surged up off the couch, startling Caroline so much that she almost fell off. He'd stared straight into her eyes as he stalked toward her slowly. By the time he'd crossed the small space and stood in front of her she was no longer laughing. She reached for him as soon as he was within range and he'd pushed her back against the counter.

"Shut up" he growled lowly at her, crashing his lips to hers before she could make any sort of smart assed reply. It was hard, almost bruising, and he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth before biting down on it hard enough to make her moan into his mouth. He pulled her closer, picking her up with his one arm and setting her on the counter in front of him, pushing her legs open forcefully and stepping between them.

"UGH!" The loud groan from the couch broke their kiss and they both turned to Caroline as she stomped her foot and crossed her arms, "Right in front of me? And on the counter, really? I eat there!" She protested, stomping around to where her slippers were laying near the bathroom door and slipping them on. The door slammed behind her as she left and James could still hear her complaining all the way up the stairs.

Darcy turned to face him again, one eyebrow raised.

"Okay, I think I see what you mean now" she said, and they were both laughing that time. Laughing like happiness and laughter and love hadn't been a foreign thing to him for 70 years.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt the phone buzz in his pocket. It was a text from a blocked number.

_Miss you already_

He smiled at it, typing out a quick reply ( _miss you more, doll_ ) before settling on the couch to watch some TV.

He got through 3 episodes before he started feeling the itch between his shoulder blades. It was usual for him, something about the serum he guessed, or maybe the 70 years of brainwashing. Sitting around for too long without a clear objective made him anxious, it was easier to ignore with Darcy around. He switched off the TV and moved to the bathroom, setting the clothes on the sink before starting the water in the tub. There were unlit candles placed around the bathroom and a row of bath bombs set up on the side of the tub, with a single red rose in a small vase on sink by the faucet. He shook his head at the strangely romantic gestures his snarky girl was always raining down on him.

He'd never felt warm water from this shower before so he didn't have very high hopes for it, but sure enough, true to her word, the water quickly warmed up until hot water was pouring over his hand.

There was another pile sitting on the cover of the toilet, a fluffy white towel this time, and another note sitting on top. It was short.

_And you doubted me_

This one was once again marked by bright red lip prints, but with a heart drawn underneath it. James chuckled and shook his head. Of course his girl would know what he was thinking.

The small bath filled up fast and he sat in the steaming water, sloshing it over the side a little as he settled himself into the smaller space. But the hot water on his skin felt good, he was glad he took Darcy's advice. He picked a citrus scented bath bomb, watching it fizz in the water and enjoying the scent it unleashed. Darcy'd suggested lavender scented, said it was supposed to be calming, but he wasn't sure he liked the smell. He let his head fall back, closing his eyes and just enjoying the hot water on his muscles.

*

The club was hot and packed. She felt like a sardine in a can in here. Of course Caroline wouldn't be up for a regular laid back bar, she had to drag Darcy out to a brand new club she'd heard about. The line had been long enough that Darcy had _almost_ convinced Caroline to turn around and head back to a bar they'd passed a block or two back. But the bouncer at the door had taken one look at her rack and had waved them through, for free. She had thanked every god she knew of that she had decided to wear the long sleeved, low cut, strappy body con dress that Caroline had picked out for her. It was too tight to wear the gun in her thigh holster (the one her waitress uniform managed to _just barely_ cover), but she'd chosen to wear a pair of chunkier boots that hid the ankle holster instead, hiding a small knife in holsters on the insides of her wrists for good measure. Whatever helped James feel better.

She'd noticed early on how jumpy he'd been, not having weapons within arms reach at all times. He'd perked up when she dug her giant duffle bag out of her closet, displaying the small arsenal at her disposal. He'd hidden guns and knives throughout the apartment that night after Caroline had gone to bed, as well as picked out a few to keep on him when he went out. He insisted she keep at least a knife on her at all times, along with her taser, but highly encouraged her to take the small gun as well. She resisted at first, she'd gone the last few years without carrying anything other than her taser on her, but had relented when she saw how much it relaxed him to know she had a more deadly means of protection. She rolled her eyes thinking about it, but really, she'd do just about anything to make that man happy.

So that's how she found herself carrying at least 3 weapons on her at all times. Sneaking the gun out tonight had not been an easy feat, and it rubbed uncomfortably against her ankle as she moved through the crowd of people, shimmying her hips to the music and smiling at Caroline like she was having the time of her life. Once upon a time this would have been something she loved to do, but now she was cataloging exits and watching drinks for drugs. She'd had to send back three drinks already tonight when men had thought to try to slip the girls a little something. She made sure each guy was watching as she dumped the drink down the drain of the bar's sink, winking each time, before pointing the men out to the bartender to call security for. The next few guys must have been paying attention because every drink they were bought from that point forward was poured within her sight by the bartender and handed directly to her. Those guys even got dances out of their respectful behavior. But now it was just her and Caroline, dancing close together, being pushed around by the sea of wriggling bodies.

Finally, when Caroline was barely coherent, they staggered out of the club together, arms around each other's shoulder's and laughing.

She waved down a cab, tossing Caroline into the back seat and sliding in after her. There was no way Darcy was dragging Caroline's drunk ass through the subway tonight. Caroline cuddled up to her as soon as she was seated and leaned her head on Darcy's shoulder.

"Maaax" she whined, "You're my best friend." Darcy rolled her eyes.

"I'm your only friend, Caroline" she pointed out. Caroline huffed and swung her hands in the air like a crazy person, or maybe just a drunk person.

"Nooooo. I mean you're my best friend, eveeeer," she drawled "You're worth a thousand of those rich bitches I used to be friends with. I think losing my money was the best thing that ever happened to me because I found you." Her words were slurred and she was slumped over, but she was surprisingly coherent. Darcy scoffed at her.

"Yeah, okay. Enough with the emotions drunk girl. Keep it up and I might actually get feelings" Darcy said, stressing the word feelings like the thought was disgusting. Caroline laughed and elbowed her.

"But you dooo! You love James!" She protested.

"Yeah, yeah you're right. I do love James" Caroline gave some sort of noise of victory, shoving her hands up in the air again before falling silent. After a few minutes Darcy figured she'd fallen asleep, but then she turned her head.

"I think I'm still in love with Andy."

"Wait. Andy? Like, Candy Andy?" She asked. They hadn't seen Andy in over a year, just before her boyfriend had broken up with her because he claimed she was still in love with Andy. She'd bitched about it for weeks.

"Yeah. Robbie was right." This time when she stopped talking she actually was asleep. She slept the whole drive to their apartment and woke up looking even more drunk than she had looked when she fell asleep. They were getting out of the cab when Darcy finally opened her mouth again.

"You're my best friend too, Caroline" To which Caroline replied by tripping over the curb and face planting into the ground. Darcy rolled her eyes and picked her up.

*

A soft splashing of water against his bare chest woke him up. He smiled, not wanting to open his eyes yet. The water continued hitting his chest so he opened his eyes slowly, watching Darcy where she was kneeling next to the tub, her head propped up on one arm while the other dragged through the water, splashing at him gently. Her smile was lazy and content as she watched him.

"Caroline is super drunk and needs to pee" she even her words were lazy as she shrugged and pulled herself to her feet. She grabbed the towel and held it up to him as he stood, trying to suppress a shiver at the cold hair hitting his warm body. The water had cooled off, but was still warmer than the water they normally used.

Darcy watched from the doorway as he started toweling himself off.

When he walked out, towel around his waist and chest bare, Caroline was sitting on the arm of the couch. Her hair was a mess, she had dark smudges under her eyes where her mascara had run, there was a small tear in the knee of her jeans and what looked to be the shadow of a bruise forming on her cheek. He rose an eyebrow at her as she stage whispered out a loud "YAY" at the bathroom being free. She stood up, tried to take a step, and almost immediately started collapsing. He caught her, pushed her back onto the arms of the couch and quickly took her shoes off her feet before helping her back to her feet. She was still staggering around, but at least she no longer looked like a newborn calf trying to walk for the first time. He left her to Darcy to deal with and went to get himself dressed. When he was done he went and pulled Caroline's bed down, pulling the blankets back and moving to the kitchen to grab her a glass of water and some aspirin. When they got out of the bathroom James scooped her up and deposited her on her bed, handing her the water and forcing her to drink it all. He refilled the glass and set it next to the aspirin before moving back to the bedroom so Darcy could wrestle Caroline out of her clothes and into her PJs. James did not envy her that chore. The woman was stubborn as it was, but drunk she was worse.

Darcy finally came to bed fifteen minutes later, breathing slightly heavier than normal and muttering about ungrateful roommates under her breath.

Caroline was sick, so Darcy was on her own tonight with the dessert Bar. The night was slow thankfully, so she didn't feel bad when she decided to close up a bit early. She shot off a text to James to let him know the change in the schedule before starting clean up. The street was dark this time of night, an entire row of streetlights had burned out two weeks ago and they still had yet to be fixed, but it never bothered her. She checked the time on her phone before locking up and starting down the street. James would be showing up in about another 5 minutes, but if she left now she'd meet up with him quicker. Though with the way the heels on her shoes were killing her feet she seriously gave a thought to waiting him out and making him carry her all the way home. It was a nice thought, but she was already down the block, so she decided to keep walking, she'd make him carry her when she found him.

It took a second to realize she was being followed, being too wrapped up in thoughts of her boyfriends amazing muscles. Once she realized, she slipped her heels off, complaining to herself, just loud enough to be heard but not loud enough to be suspicious, about how the shoes were killing her. She carried one in each hand, walking carefully, like she was concentrating on the ground watching so she didn't step on anything.

She was ready when they finally slipped out of the shadows to try and surround her. They'd went to attack in the exact spot she'd expected, amateurs. She spun around, flinging one shoe and then the other rapidly and with deadly accuracy as the heels sunk into the face of one man and the throat of the other. She didn't have time to stop and admire her handy work as another man was reaching for her from behind. She spun again, kicking out and catching him in the shin, she grinned when she heard the cracking of the bone and he went down quickly. The guy next to him got a sharp punch to the sternum before the knife in her other fist hit him in the exact same spot. He grinned evilly at her, some awful comment on lips no doubt, before the blood spread over his shirt and he too crumpled to the ground. She finished up with a swift kick to the head of the guy whose leg she'd broken. Three of the four men were already dead by the time James found her. He sagged in relief after he'd inspected her for injuries, realizing quickly that none of the blood was her own. He kissed her hard, right there in the middle of a ring of bodies, not caring when she ended up smearing blood over his face and in his hair.

"A group of them were waiting for me too a few blocks over." He said, inspecting her work before checking the bodies for anything they could find out about hydra. He stole the weapons off their bodies, smiling up at her when he realized the last guy was still alive.

"I figured it was smart to leave one alive. Maybe you can get him to talk" she shrugged, she'd already removed his cyanide tooth, and they checked him over once more to make sure he didn't have any other ways of suicide available to him. James seemed torn, looking from the guy, back to her. Darcy realized what he was doing, trying to find a way to walk her home while still moving the hydra guy to place he could be tortured effectively. Darcy laughed for a moment and lifted the lid of the nearest dumpster, gesturing grandly toward it. James' smile was so bright she thought it might blind her. He made quick work of binding and gagging the hydra agent before dumping him unceremoniously into the dumpster, throwing a few bags of trash on top of his body.

"God I love you" he said, before sweeping Darcy up into another kiss that stole the breath right from her lungs.

"Mmm. I love you too" she hummed.

"Come on, show me where your bodies are, I need to tag them and send Nat to clean up" she said as she dragged him down the street. Once Darcy put a small locator tag on one of the bodies he'd left piled in an alleyway (almost twenty people), she'd made him carry her home.

"Text me when you get Hydra dude out of the area. Once I turn on the locator Nat's gonna be on those bodies within minutes." She let him know before he left.

She was wrong. Nat was not on the bodies within minutes. Someone from Stark’s team sure was on it, but Nat herself was sitting primly on Darcy's bed when Darcy walked in after her shower. She should have expected it.

"What happened?" It was so Natasha, to show she cared by showing up, but then getting right down to the issue before giving any emotional support.

"A few hydra guys jumped me on my way home. I took care of them fine, and continued home when I found the other guys. I'm not sure what happened to them but whoever they ran into must have been some badass people." Natasha narrowed her eyes at Darcy and Darcy narrowed hers right back at Natasha.

"Are you silently accusing me of lying right now, Natasha?" Darcy asked incredulously, dropping the towel she had been using to dry her hair. Natasha just cocked her head and rose an eyebrow. Darcy rolled her eyes.

"Either you're telling the truth or you've gotten very good at lying" She said finally, holding out a hand to Darcy and dragging her down next to her on the bed.

"How are you, moya milaya?" She asked softly, wrapping her arms around Darcy.

"I'm fine, Nat" she said, her voice wavering just slightly.

"Hmmm. I see you truly have not gotten better at lying." She replied, rocking them back and forth a little. Darcy sighed into Natasha's shoulder.

"I will be okay. I won't ever regret killing Hydra. I'd burn all of them to the ground if I could" the venom she felt bled out into her voice and she slid her hand into Natasha's jacket, covering the spot she was shot in over a year prior. She felt the anger again. At Nat getting hurt. At the way they forced James to do it. And she let it show on her face.

"What would you say if I said I wanted back in?" She asked, tilting her head back up at the redhead. Natasha shook her head softly and laid a kiss on her forehead.

"I would say you're crazy. But if it's truly what you want, I'd never be able to deny you. I've never quite been able to deny you" she replied, brushing back a stray bit of hair that had plastered to her face while she was drying it. Darcy smiled sadly now.

"Yes you have."

"Milaya..." she started, sadness and regret coloring her words, before clenching her jaw slightly and turning her face away. Natasha waited until Darcy was almost asleep in her arms, shifting her to lay down and pulling the blankets up over her. Darcy blinked tiredly, smothering a yawn as Natasha laid another kiss on her forehead.

"Ty moyo solnyshko, lubov" she whispered into Darcy's hair before moving to the window to leave.

"Ya Lublu tebya, zhencheenah" She whispered back before the redhead was gone.

As soon as Natasha was gone, James was back.

"I didn't know you knew Russian, doll" he said, crossing over to the bed laying a light kiss in the same place Natasha had. She shrugged slightly, yawning.

"You're not the first ex Russian assassin I've dated" James laughed.

"I could tell" he said, his voice still filled with humor. She finally sat up to look at him, seeing the specks of blood staining his clothes and skin.

"Don't you dare get bad guy blood all over my bed, James Barnes. You'll be doing laundry for months!" She warned. He put his hands up in surrender and moved back half a step.

"I can't" all trace of humor was gone now and Darcy felt a shiver run down her back at the look on his face. It was bad, it had to be bad.

"There's a small hydra cell here. I've took them all out and it seems they didn't have communications with the other cells yet, but I can't be sure. I wiped all their data and there wasn't any mention of you or Caroline, so I'm not sure how they knew to target you. But I have to leave. If they managed to let any other hydra cells know I was in the area you guys are in danger." She shook his head in anger and started pacing through the room.

"I knew I shouldn't have stayed in one place so long. It was stupid to believe I could somehow stay and still keep you safe."

She chewed on her lip a little, trying to figure out how to form her next words.

"What if... What if you went to Steve?" He spun to face her, no longer pacing, his eyes wide, like a deer caught in headlights.

"Avenger's tower is one of the safest places on earth, even if Hydra knew you were there they wouldn't be able to get to you. And then you could stay, you wouldn't have to leave" she knew she sounded desperate, practically begging him to stay, she also knew it wasn't going to work. He shook his head again a knelt down on the floor next to her.

"I'm not ready to face Steve. The thing's I've done, Darce. I just, I can't, not yet" he looked away, clutching onto her hands like she could save him if he just held on tight enough. There were tears running down both their faces now and neither of them could help it.

"Go shower" he looked confused at her change of subject before shaking his head again and opening his mouth to talk. She cut him off before he could get any words out.

"James Buchanan Barnes, you go wash the bad guy blood off you right now. Then you're going to come back and crawl into bed with me, you're going to make love to me one more time before you leave and you're going to hold me for the rest of the night. Then once you leave you're going to find a way to contact me _at least_ every few weeks. I love you and I am not letting you go easily. If you say no to any of that I will drag you to the Avengers tower myself, by your ear. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Natasha and Darcy’s conversation is roughly “you are my sun, love” and “I love you, woman”  
> Moya milaya is like my sweet or my darling (And I’m pretty sure this one is supposed to be written milaya moya, but I don’t quite know)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy is annoyed  
> Coulson is alive  
> Caroline is confused  
> The diner is blown up  
> Tony Stark is an asshole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to warn ahead of time. This is NOT a tony stark bashing fic. He’s drawn in a bad light in this chapter, but it will get better, I promise.

Darcy was standing at the counter, frowning at the rag she kept running in impatient circles against the already as-clean-as-it-was-going-to-get counter. It was yet another Friday night that she had spent at the crappy diner she was stuck working for in this shit hole of a city she got whisked away to. She was bitter about it today, so sue her. Her boyfriend had left her here, his anxiety finally getting the better of him, she deserved to be bitter damn it. And she hadn't heard from James in weeks. Her complete lack of ability to contact him herself was frustrating to no end. She was about ten minutes and one breakdown away from hunting him down and making good on her promise of dragging him to the tower by his ear.

It was getting late enough that they could call it quits in another hour if they didn't get any more customers for the night. Han had left for the night hours ago, and no one would know if they decided to close a little early once in a while.

It sucked. Still being here, working nights at the diner, even if was only occasionally. When her and Caroline had finally gotten their dessert bar up and running they'd thought they would be able to be done with the diner, but they'd just switched to days instead. And then of course, the new night shifters both ended up with food poisoning (*cough* from the diner *cough*), and Caroline volunteered them for a double shift.

" _We need the money, Max_ " she whispered under her breath in a sarcastic high pitched voice, mocking her blonde roommate.

The bell on the door chimed as rowdy group spilled through it. The laughter was loud enough that the words were drowned out but apparently hilarious. She frowned harder and looked up, ready to tell them off for being so obnoxious, but her words got stuck in her throat as she locked eyes with the man at the back of the group spilling through the door. She made a strangled noise in the back of her throat, gaping in a matter that she was certain was very unattractive.

The man held her gaze for a few seconds before following closely behind his group and sliding into the booth next to an attractive Asian woman who smiled up at him warmly. Darcy took a deep breath in and shimmied her way up to their table with her usual indifference.

"Can I get the loudmouths something to drink?" she asked sarcastically as she popped her bubble gum at them, looking around the table to take in the other people and purposely skipping her gaze over the man, lingering slightly on the woman next to him. They all ordered coffee, except for the British woman and the Irish (Scottish? She had a terrible time telling the accents apart) man who ordered tea. Darcy grimaced and almost warned them away, but she was tired tonight and just didn't feel like it. So instead she sashayed away into the kitchen to grab an extra carafe of fresh coffee and get the terrible tea started. It only took a few minutes and she was on her way back to the table, setting drinks down in front of their owners.

"British," she said placing the first tea in front of the woman.

"Scottish" she did a really terrible fake accent while setting his down.

"Asian" the older woman first.

"Baby Asian" the younger woman next.

"Jackbooted thug" she placed the last coffee. Then turned slightly to grab the carafe off the table she had set it at behind her, dropping it slightly onto the middle of the table and finally leveling him with a glare.

"Or is it agent zombie now? Since, ya know, last time I checked you were _dead_ " she bit the words out. She had been trying to go for more nonchalant, but she would settle for angry perfectly fine. He at least had the grace to look slightly sheepish as the rest of his group looked between them in confusion.

"Miss Lewis" he started but she shushed him and put her finger in his face.

"Darcy" he tried again but she shushed him again. This time looking over her shoulder toward the kitchen to make sure Caroline hadn't come out and overheard him. She had meant to ignore him the whole time they were here anyway. It was risky talking in the diner.

"Miss Black" he tried finally, but he realized it must have been the wrong thing to say as Darcy just narrowed her eyes further.

"You came here on purpose. Are you _trying_ to blow my cover?"

"We came to pick you up actually. You've been compromised and we need to get you to safety." He said the words like he was talking about the weather, like it didn't matter. The various shades of shock on his companion's faces showed that they were, however, _not_ in on whatever the hell Agent Zombie had cooking. Huh. Maybe James hadn't just been being paranoid.

"Aren't you going to tell me how the hell you're still alive?"She folded her arms over her chest and raised an, impressively groomed (thanks Caroline), eyebrow at him. The fact that the eyes of every one of his companions had turned to him in surprise when he said they were here for her had made her feel slightly smug, she was gonna run with it. _That's right, baby agents_ , she thought, _I'm fucking valuable_.

"Come on, Darce, don't look at me like that" Coulson practically whined at her and Darcy immediately perked up at the idea of getting the seemingly unflappable agent to beg. She continued to give him the look, but put her hand up and started crooking her fingers in the universal 'come on' gesture. Coulson sighed loudly, his shoulders slumping in defeat before he folded his hands onto the table and leaned over it.

"Great Darcy, queen of the tequila, wielder of lighting, sister of gods, saver of worlds, and all around badass bitch. You don't need a knight in shining armor yet I'm here to collect you, all the same, so please allow me the honor and don't tase a bitch." The whole comment was made in a sad monotone voice but by the end of it, Darcy was absolutely beaming at him.

"God, when Jane and I made up that super awesome passphrase I was sooooo hoping that it would be you who came to get me when shit eventually hit the fan. So you can imagine how super bummed I was when I found out my absolute favorite agent asshole got himself shanked by the fucking trickster god. Smooth move there, exlax." she barely noticed the looks she was getting from the rest of Coulson's team through her mini-rant, though she cared even less.

It was hard for her to remove her eyes from the formerly dead man. Darcy had _cried_ for him. _Jane_ had cried for him. They'd full-on mourned him, like ugly snotty cry at the funeral _mourning_. And yet here he was, years later, sitting in the shitty diner she worked at as "Max Black" drinking the god awful coffee with a new team, looking as if they had never been anything more than acquaintances. A large part of her was relieved that he was here, unharmed, calm and unbothered, so like himself, but another part was angry.

Angry that she was apparently forgotten, not good enough to know that he had survived what had been done to him. Too insignificant. She was startled out of her angry thoughts when Coulson raised his eyebrow at her and replied with a cool "I thought Barton was your favorite agent Asshole".

"Well, he certainly is now." Darcy snapped at him, tightening her arms over her chest. "Speaking of Barton. Does he know? What about Nat?" Coulson's visible recoiling was all the answer she needed. "Idiot. Fucking idiot, Phil. They're gonna -" Her new rant was cut off by Coulson's watch emitting a high pitched beeping noise, three quick beeps followed by one drawn out beep. It was loud and shrill enough to catch the attention of those in the back, Oleg's head popping out of the kitchen window and Caroline stalking out through the door with a comment already forming on her tongue, but Darcy silenced her with a quick glare and a shake of her head. By the time she turned back to the booth Coulson, Asian, and baby Asian were already out of their seats, guns in their hands, in a loose half-circle around Darcy, British, and Scottish, semi blocking them from the door.

"Caroline, get down!" Darcy yelled at her, throwing herself forward into Coulson's back just as the windows shattered with the delayed sound of gunfire. Darcy didn't take the time to make sure Caroline had shielded herself behind at least the counter as she crouched down and pulled one of Coulson's smaller guns from where she knew it was hidden on his ankle. He stayed still for a second longer than he normally would, giving her enough time to grab an extra round of ammo from his pocket as well, before he was moving toward the door, him and Asian crowding against the wall while baby Asian ushered British, Scottish, and Earl toward the kitchen, all of them staying as small as possible to hopefully not be shot. She should have never stopped carrying the gun James had insisted she kept on her at all times. Darcy snorted as a bullet landed in the floor next to her, wood spraying in all directions from the force.

"Sitting duck and they still can't fucking hit me. Fucking amateur hour up in here" she mumbled out loud as she crawled her ass across the floor and underneath a table, repressing the urge to squeal at the close call.

"That is probably not the best place to take cover!" Asian yelled in her general direction as she took careful shots out the window, keeping as much of her body out of sight as possible.

"Weeeeelll, sooorry." Darcy drawled sarcastically, before peering up and over the table, aiming the gun and firing a carefully placed shot that caused a man dressed head to toe in black to come crashing through the window with a bullet in his leg. "I've never been in a fucking firefight before, so fucking sue me!" she yelled over the noise as Asian stomped her heavy booted foot on the bad guy's head, effectively knocking him out.

"That's a lie!" Coulson called from his position by the door, and when Darcy looked up to argue she noticed the two men Coulson was fighting against. For a second she just watched, admiring his hand to hand combat skills (when they weren't aimed at training her they were pretty damned cool), before she shrugged her shoulders and took aim, taking them both down in rapid succession as Coulson nodded his thanks and rolled out his shoulder.

"You were at ground zero for two alien invasions. And there was the Chernobyl incident with Barton and Romanov." He pointed out to her as he once again engaged in hand to hand combat with some goon covered in black while Darcy kept her aim on the door and Asian watched the window.

"Chernobyl was supposed to never be mentioned ever again. I got my ass handed to me in a way I will forever be ashamed of."

"Oh come on, Darce. You'd been an agent for less than two months and the black widow and Hawkeye decided to gang up on you. Nothing shameful about getting your ass handed to you by the widow."

Coulson obviously wasn't letting the subject go, even as more gunfire went off around them. The bad guys had stopped trying to filter through the door now though, so Darcy figured they were finally getting a little smarter.

"It was _how_ my ass was handed to me that was embarrassing" Darcy muttered to herself as she shuffled further under the booth, trying to figure out the best angle for seeing out the window so that maybe she could stop the damned gunfire from raining down on them. How freaking many of them were there?

"Hey, there's nothing to be embarrassed abo-" coulson's voice was suddenly drowned out by the sound of repulser fire and the _tink- tink- tink_ of bullets hitting something metal.

Darcy's head popped out from her hiding spot and she glared at Coulson disbelievingly.

"Please, please tell me you did not call him. I swear to Thor, tell me you didn't." Her biting whisper was half terrified even to her own ears. Coulson just shook his head at her to tell her that no, he didn't rat her out, but before she could try to convince herself it was someone else Asian spoke up.

"What the hell is Iron Man doing here?"

The gunfire had stopped, but Darcy didn't have a whole lot of time to be thankful before the big clunky iron suit was stepping through the broken window, the glass crunching loudly beneath his feet. His mask turned toward her face for a few seconds before he turned bodily toward Coulson.

"Hey look, it's a dead guy." The voice wasn't muffled, so she knew the faceplate had been flipped up.

"MAX! Are you alright? What the hell is going on? Wait, is that Iron Man?" The blonde who swept through the kitchen door was in disarray. Her hair was tangled, apron askew, the zipper on her uniform was broken and there were splashes of red on her skirt that Darcy hoped to hell was just ketchup. Darcy just shrugged at Caroline, she literally had zero clue what was going on. All she knew was that shit had to have literally hit the fan, much harder than she had anticipated. She didn't bat her friend away when she rushed to her and started patting her down, looking for any injuries that couldn't be seen.

"Is that a gun?!" Caroline practically shrieked when she held Darcy's arms up. Darcy shrugged again before catching Coulson's eye and tossing the gun to him across the room.

"Thank's for letting me borrow that, zombie man." She smirked at him before turning back to Caroline's new horrified shriek.

"What? The safety was on!" She defended herself. The other's had finally trickled out the Kitchen door, standing around staring in shock at the bodies littering the floor and the damage from the guns.

"You're lucky they didn't have anything bigger" he had finally turned to her, she was looking away surveying the damage, as he well knew, so she couldn't see him, but she could feel his judgmental stare on the back of her head.

"No" she ground out " _You're_ lucky that none of my _family_ got hurt." She turned toward him now, returning his glare in full force. And maybe she wasn't as intimidating as he was in his stupid shiny gold and red metal suit while she had on an awful now-ripped mustard yellow waitress uniform, but she damn well knew she could give as good as she got. Even if it was Iron Man she was staring down. He actually seemed to wince slightly at the word "family" before his expression was set in judgmental glaring again. Tony turned away first, glancing over the people standing around them and the damage that had been done before turning his attention back to Coulson and Asian.

"Agent Agent" he addressed Coulson "Agent May" this time Asian, "get her to the tower. Now. I'll keep on the lookout for any more rogue agents and get a team down here to clean this mess up." He didn't even spare her another look before his faceplate slammed down again and he was flying off.

"You heard him Darce. Let's go." Coulson prompted, quite a bit more gently than she was used to. She shrugged again, keeping her face carefully blank as she turned from him to where Oleg and Earl were sitting stunned in one of the bullet ridden booths.

"You heard the man, time to go" she told them, hooking her arm in Caroline's and pulling her forward, offering her other arm to Earl to help him up. Coulson watched wearily as the small group made their way to the door, not even bothering to open it, just stepping out through the hole left by the broken glass.

"Hey, Phil! Where's your ride?" Darcy could hear Coulson's sigh. Her lips twitched up without her permission and instead of trying to fight it, she let the smile take over. There was a soft beep, like from a key fob, and suddenly a small jet had materialized right in the middle of the street, the wings folded up nicely as to not hit anything. There were street closed signs down at the ends of the blocks both ways down the street, which was great since their night would have been incredibly long had there been a bunch of people around during their damned firefight. She had a feeling it was going to be a long night anyway.

The whole flight had been silent. Not that it was a long flight, ten minutes maybe, but the fact that Caroline was just sitting in her seat fidgeting the whole time was making her nervous. Not even when they stepped off the jet and onto the helipad at Avengers Tower did she say a word. Oleg and Earl both seemed to be in shock, neither had said a word or even looked in the direction of another person, just blankly staring. It was starting to worry her a bit.

The rooftop was filled with a team of paramedics, who instantly went to the three civilians that had been caught up in the action. Earl and Oleg didn't protest, but Caroline did.

"No way am I going anywhere without Max. Or an explanation! It's not happening" Darcy smiled at her friend and shook her head at the paramedics, waving them off before looping her arm in Caroline's and turning to the roof access door.

Two people stood waiting for her. She dragged a confused Caroline over and released her to give the tall strawberry blonde woman a hug. She didn't expect the woman to latch onto her or to feel the tears dripping from her cheeks onto Darcy's shoulder. Pepper petted her hair a few times and then moved back far enough to see her without releasing her.

"I was so scared. I've missed you so much!" Pepper pulled her back into her arms and Darcy couldn't help but melt into them. It had been so long since she'd hugged the woman, so long since she'd seen her. It felt nice to finally be enveloped in Pepper's love again. She pulled back from the other woman when she felt her own eyes start to water and laughed nervously.

She didn't have much time to recover as she was then lifted up off her feet and crushed in Thors bulky bear hug. He swung her legs back and forth before setting her to her feet and clasping his hands to her shoulders.

"I missed you as well, sister," he said simply before removing his hands and stepping back. Darcy laughed again.

"I missed you too, big guy. Where's Jane?" Thor avoided her eyes and shuffled his feet almost nervously. This time it was Darcy who put her hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"It's okay" she whispered. It wasn't okay. Not really. Jane had been her family. Her sister. The person she was closest to on the planet. The fact that the woman didn't want to see her bit deep, but she couldn't blame Jane.

"As much as I love the love fest, why don't we go debrief and then get to bed" the sarcastic voice ground on Darcy's nerves and she turned to see Tony Stark stepping out of his suit. Once he was free of it, it closed up and flew off, back to his lab probably. Pepper gave him a warning look over her shoulder and then ushered them through the roof door and onto the elevator.

The elevator ride was uncomfortable. The elevators were large, and Coulson and his team had taken the other. But even with her on one side and Tony on the other, the ride was silent and the air charged. Caroline was once again in shocked silence alternating between staring at Darcy and at each of their companions. She pulled Darcy's arm as they stepped off the elevator and they hung back.

"How do you know Iron man? And Thor? And freaking Pepper Potts? How did you not tell me?" She whispered furiously at Darcy, eyes darting back and forth between her and the literal superheroes walking away from them. Darcy sighed and grabbed Caroline's arm again, pulling her forward.

"I promise I'll explain once I know what's going on. Just, trust me, okay?" She whispered back.

They stepped into the conference room to be met with an irritated Tony tapping his foot against the floor and a stoic looking Coulson just behind him.

"I feel like I just got caught sneaking out by my disapproving fathers" Darcy stage whispered to Caroline as they moved around the table to sit somewhere other than next to or directly across from Tony. Her comment got a smile from Thor and Pepper and giggle from baby Asian. It also got a nasty look from Tony. Darcy glared back at him for a second before looking pointedly at Coulson.

"Alright, agent zombie, what's going on? Why was I brought in?" She asked. "Besides the fact that Hydra already attacked you once a two months ago?" Tony huffed slightly then flicked his wrist up and a holographic screen came up in the middle of the table. What was happening on the screen was hard to decipher for a moment. There were fires, overturned cars, a team of shield agents, a man dressed head to toe in black (except for a wicked cool metal arm) and Captain America. She recognized the footage easily. 

"Hydra infiltrated Shield" the way Tony said it made it seem like he was addressing the entire room. From the expressions on their faces, Darcy guessed she was actually the one he was talking to.

"The Winter soldier is MIA" he took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling.

"Oookaaay.." Darcy felt like she was missing something, but the silence stretched on as everyone sat and watched the news footage of DC.

"Hey, is that-" Caroline started, but Darcy quickly fixed her with a glare and cut her off. Darcy wasn't quite sure how everyone in the room would react to the knowledge that the winter soldier had lived with them for over a year. And that she was still currently dating him.

"What does this have to do with anything? This was over a year and a half ago now." Darcy continued, trying to prompt for more when it became apparent than no one else was going to elaborate.

"When Hydra infiltrated shield, there were a few dozen people flagged by them, when Cap took them down a lot of the information was lost. But the black widow managed to get a list of names to us, we immediately put those people under surveillance, with the help of Mr. Stark. We were watching for any signs they were coming after those that we had under protection. We got the notice they were rallying around the area about an hour before we got to you. We weren't sure you were the target, but figured it didn't hurt to pick you up anyway. I'm glad we did."

"So am I, but I still don't understand why this warrants a meeting. Where's Cap and Natasha?"

"Captain Rogers and Miss Romanov are on a mission, currently. I believe they have a lead on the whereabouts of the Winter Soldier."

Darcy opened her mouth to respond when she was interrupted by a snort to her left.

"You know Captain America too?" She asked, almost bitterly. Darcy's eyes immediately narrowed at her friend.

"No, Caroline, I don't actually. I know Thor and Pepper, but I don't know Captain America and I sure as hell don't know Iron Man. In fact, the very first words Stark has ever spoken to me were today, in the diner. So no, I don't know him." Her words were biting and had a cruel edge, making Tony narrow his eyes at her as she looked across the table at him.

"And I wouldn't have had to do that if you knew how to lay low like you were told!" He bit back at her, surging to his feet in his anger. And now she was on her feet too, leaning over the table as she tried to control the urge to punch him.

"Excuse me? Who's fault is it that I had to go into hiding in the first place? It sure as hell wasn't MINE!" She roared back at him.

"You're the one who decided to follow the most wanted astrophysicist around the damned planet looking for ways to create a fucking WORMHOLE TO OTHER WORLDS! Don't you try to pin this all on me! A sensible person would run the opposite direction when aliens start dropping from the sky!"

"A sensible person wouldn't give a fucking terrorist their home address and INVITE them to blow up their shit! A sensible person would get a therapist after being kidnapped, not create a fucking armored suit and become a superhero! You don't get to lecture me on sensible when you AREN'T."

"Well, you're one to talk about being kidnapped, since you have been. FOUR FUCKING TIMES!"

"AND WHO'S FAULT WAS THAT? STOP ACTING LIKE YOU HAVE ANY RIGHT TO LECTURE ME!"

"I AM YOUR FATHER"

"NO YOU ARE NOT! JUST BECAUSE YOU GAVE ME YOUR DNA DOESNT MAKE ME YOUR DAUGHTER"

Tony's mouth snapped shut on his next words and they were both suddenly vividly aware of the rest of the people in the room watching them. Coulson and Pepper were the only two who didn't look completely blindsided by the revelation that Darcy was Tony's child. Tony worked his jaw angrily and looked like he was once again about to say something when Pepper put her hand up to stop him.

"She's right, Tony." Her words were soft and somehow not accusing, even if they hit him like a punch to the stomach. Darcy was tired now. It was at least 3am and she was so emotionally drained that she wasn't sure she could handle much more. And she still owed Caroline quite the explanation.

"I already have a family, Stark" she started, letting the anger completely bleed out of her in favor of the exhaustion "I never thought I could have a family. But then I met Jane, and she proved me wrong" She didn't need Tony Stark. She had all the family she needed already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dude. 4 year olds are brutal.  
> We just had an hour long dance party in the living room and only stopped so I didn’t fucking die. Lol.  
> So, I know I said I had 3 chapters written (this would be #2) but, it turns out I am a big liar liar pants. I didn’t quite like a bit of the next chapter, so I’m redoing it. It shouldn’t take long though.
> 
> (Hint, hint) Comments always make me smile!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caroline get less confused  
> Clint is a dumbass  
> The girls eat lunch  
> Darcy realizes something

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, right smack dab in the middle of this chapter is supposed to be a part where Darcy checks up on Earl and Oleg after the super traumatic events of the night before.  
> Unfortunately, I hated everything I wrote and kept rewriting it and just can’t manage something I’m happy with. So just pretend. I‘ll try to add it in later or at least try to reference it later or something to show it happened.  
> Idk, I just didn’t want to make you wait longer. So here you go.

"Explain" the word was out of her mouth before the door of their brand new shiny apartment could close behind them. Caroline had her arms folded and hip cocked, her signature "fess up" look on her face. She was tired, and bloody, and probably still a little in shock from being in an honest to god firefight. Her ears were still ringing from the sounds of the guns going off so close.

"I'm not really Max Black. Though I think you'd have to be stupid not to have gathered that by this point. Basically, long story short, my name is Darcy Lewis. I was missing a few credits for school and could either take a science class that I'd already taken or do an internship. Jane foster, astrophysics, who was studying wormhole activity in the desert needed help. Then Thor crashed his big alien ass to earth, Jane hit him with the car, I tased him, we helped him sneak into a secret government facility. Then BAMB alien invasion.

I got recruited by agent zombie out there because of my A+ hacking and got to be a sort of "bodyguard" to Janey. Which is how I met Clint, or Hawkeye as you might recognize him, and through him, Natasha, the black widow. I got almost kidnapped a few times, learned Iron man was my dad, more alien invasions happened, got for real kidnapped real bad. Then my "father" and government people decided I was too much trouble for them to handle and sent me into "witness protection". I'm, like, 90% certain it was just a ploy to get me off their radar so if I turned up dead they could feel like it wasn't their fault and they tried their best." Darcy rushed the explanation out in practically one breath. Her hands flying around crazily and trying to keep as much of the bitterness out of her voice as possible, but being honest with herself, she didn't quite care. There seemed to be a lot of that tonight. She huffed and collapsed onto the nearest furniture. Which turned out to be a table.

Caroline was still standing frozen by the door, staring at Darcy with disbelief written all over her face.

"Tony Stark is your father?" She asked, somehow needing confirmation for what seemed to be the millionth time. Darcy just nodded at her. She was too drained for anything else tonight.

"THAT BITCH!" Caroline practically shrieked. "He was being such an ASS. And he's your _father_? I'm gonna go give that asshole a piece of my mind!" She managed to hobble over to the door on her ridiculous heels, alerting Darcy to the fact that she probably had at least a sprained ankle, before Darcy sighed loudly and pushed herself up off the table she had starfished on.

"Wait, Caroline. Let's get some sleep first" she said, pulling her friend back through the door by her arm "then tomorrow we'll take a look around the sweet apartment pep set up for us, go check out the tower, and after we're done with everything _then_ we can go bitch out the dead beat billionaire who helped spawn me. Deal?"

"Deal"

The phone vibrating in Darcy's pocket woke her at least 5 hours earlier than she had planned. Half asleep, she patted down her pockets, slapping the couch cushions beneath her as well as the blond that had fallen half way off the couch sometime in the very few hours they had slept. Neither of them had made it to their bedrooms, barely even making it to the large, fluffy grey couch 15 feet from the door. She struggled to pull the phone from the pocket of the apron still tied around her waist.

"Hello?" She asked groggily, not even aware of who was on the other line.

"We're an hour out. Meet me in medical." Click. They ended the call.

Darcy was tired. It was barely 8 in the morning and they had finally fallen asleep somewhere around 4 or 5. It was way too little sleep after getting shot at and getting into a screaming match with her _not_ -father. She threw her phone to the side, letting her eyes drift shut and her head loll back against the couch. She could feel herself slipping slowly back into dreams when she sat up straight. Fuck.

She scrambled for her phone and quickly clicked the _recents_ tap. Nat. That was Natasha. How had her brain not recognized her voice right away?

_We're an hour out. Meet me in medical._

Why did she need to meet Nat in medical? She checked her phone again. Half an hour. She'd fallen back asleep for an entire half an hour before realizing who had called. Double fuck.

Darcy surged to her feet, almost tripping over Caroline's death trap shoes that she'd left laying around and smashed her knee right into the table.

"Fuck" she bit out, hopping away from the table and toward the hallway. There were three doors in the back of the hallway, and thankfully two of them were labeled. One had _Darcy_ written in swirling black script on the center of the door at eye level, right across the hall the second door had _Caroline_ in the same place and same black script. The third door, at the very end of the hall, was empty of any labels.

Darcy pushed through her door, not taking any time to stop and admire the decor. She vaguely noted the large bed with dark blankets and the open door to what she assumed was the closet. The bathroom door was directly across from the bedroom door, also open, making it extremely easy to locate. She practically ran through that door too, forgetting her rush for just a moment as she took in the huge open shower. The stone wall curled around in a circle, leaving the entrance open, but giving enough privacy that no one in the room would see any shower occupants. The shower head hanging from the ceiling told her it was one of those "rain" shower heads. And it was huge. The outside of the shower wall held a rack of hangers, one held a fresh towel and one held the fluffiest looking bathrobe she'd ever seen. There was a small curved bench along the wall that had a set of clothes folded on the end of it. Darcy had to forcefully shake herself out of it and force herself to move toward the back of the shower. There was a small panel with buttons to turn the water on and adjust the temperature and pressure of the water, which Darcy did fast, turning both up before shedding her clothes and leaving them in a pile near the front of the shower.

She hadn't taken a truly hot shower in years. She felt her muscles relaxing under the spray and practically melted. The shower products that were stocked were the outrageously expensive kind that Pepper had forced her to use the times she had stayed with her in the Malibu house. She'd missed them so much.

Darcy spent far longer than she should have just washing her hair, realizing when the shower starting running red that she had actually gotten a fair amount of blood in her hair and on her body the night before. Her phone beeped on the other side of the wall as a text came through. Darcy hurriedly wrung the water from her hair and switched off the water as she rushed for her phone.

_Nat: 15 minutes_

Darcy swore and tugged the towel from the hanger, quickly running it over her body before wrapping it around her hair. She grabbed a toothbrush from the sink and started trying to brush as she wrestled the black sweat pants onto her body.

Darcy was out the door, fully dressed, 5 minutes later. She skidded into the elevator doors as they opened and leaned against the wall, shooting off a text to Caroline explaining where she went. Hopefully she'd be back before the blond even woke up, but she didn't want to bank on it.

"Medical please, Jarvis" she said into the open air as the doors shut behind her.

"Of course, Miss Lewis" came the reply as the elevator started it's descent.

It was a quick ride and she was out. The double doors directly down the hall in front of the elevator made her feel like she was suddenly in a hospital instead of a technological company.

There was a small pad that needed a badge to open the door, a badge which Darcy obviously did not have.

Against the wall was a small row of chairs and surprisingly, a check in desk. Darcy paced nervously in front of the elevator, not bothering to go to the desk. Anyone going back would need to pass through right here. She checked her phone. It'd been 20 minutes since the last text.

"They're on their way down now, Miss Lewis." Jarvis's voice spoke up, startling the nurse doing paperwork at the desk.

"Thank's J" she said, relaxing slightly. They were here. So Nat was fine.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open to reveal a very annoyed Natasha who was supporting a very unconscious Clint between her and another man that she didn't recognize.

"What happened?" Darcy asked, rushing forward with her hands out, looking for something she could possibly do to help them carry the dead weight.

"Idiot slipped and cracked his thick skull. He'll be fine" Natasha answered, sounding just as annoyed as she looked. Darcy followed them down the hall as the man she didn't know produced a badge from his pocket and used to it to open the locked door. They dumped him in the first empty room down the hall and the unknown man started taking Clint's vitals, confirming Darcy's suspicions that he was a nurse or doctor. Natasha continued to lean against the wall with her arms crossed, face falling back into neutrality.

"Well, it seems like he'll be alright. His vitals are all good. Only way to tell if something is wrong is to wait until he wakes up. It should be pretty soon." The doctor said before excusing himself from the room with a warm nod toward Natasha.

She glanced toward Darcy briefly before pulling her phone out of her pocket and fiddling with it.

"Omelet, right? Mexican style?" She asked, not even waiting for Darcy's answer before finishing her text and putting her phone away.

"Always Mexican style omelets, Nat." Darcy answered anyway.

*

"Is Caroline awake, J?" She asked into the empty elevator. It'd been about two hours sitting on the medical floor, her and Natasha taking turns throwing balled up pieces of paper at Clint's still unconscious form, before Clint had finally woken up. His loud, groggy, confused and pained groan made Natasha roll her eyes again, but Darcy could see the slight pinch around her eyes that betrayed her worry for the man. Things had gone faster after he woke up, the doctor coming back and doing more tests to make sure everything was fine. Another hour later and the doctor was saying he was fine, just a little bumped and bruised. Darcy decided to bail when they mentioned keeping him for observation for the next day and overnight. Clint was a menace and lord only knew what he'd do to get out of having to sit around a hospital room for an entire day. She was sure he'd be trying to escape through the vents as soon as Natasha turned her back.

"She is. I believe she was just getting out of the shower, Miss Lewis." The disembodied voice replied as the doors closed behind her.

"Perfect, I'll go back up to the apartment then, please"

"Of course."

"MAX!? Is that you?" Caroline's voice shouted from inside the apartment as soon as she swung the door open. She was somewhere in her bedroom, the door wide open, but the bathroom door only cracked slightly.

"Yeah, it's me." Darcy leaned against the wall just inside Caroline's bedroom, waiting for the other woman to appear.

"Where did you go? I woke up and you weren't here." She opened the door farther with her foot, letting a bunch of steam roll out of the bathroom as she did. Caroline had her hair wrapped up in a towel, the big fluffy bathrobe on, and a green mask smeared on her face when she finally came out.

"I went to meet with a friend. We sat in medical for a bit. I did text you." Darcy moved farther into the room, plopping down hard on the bed and groaning as she sunk in instead of bouncing.

"Oh my god, this bed is amazing" she practically purred as she started petting at the blankets.

"Ohhhh, no. Do not sink into my bed and become a hermit there. You have your own!" Caroline took her hands off her hips and swatted Darcy's leg before moving back into the bathroom, with Darcy following her this time. Darcy sat on the bench by the shower and watched as Caroline washed the green mask off her face and pulled open a drawer filled with brand named makeup and tools. She was practically purring as she spread the cover up over her face and pulled out the eyelash curler.

"Oh baby, I have missed how it felt to be rich!" She said as she held up two compacts to her face, trying to find the perfect shade of eyeshadow and blush for her complexion. "Seriously, this is heaven. I'm going to absolutely hate leaving here." She must have caught the way Darcy's face scrunched up at her statement because she dropped the compacts back down to the sink and twirled around to face her.

"What was that face for?" Darcy shrugged, trying to find the best way to word her thoughts.

"I can't leave..." she stopped and deliberated for a moment, "Remember how I was sorta in like a "witness protection" kinda thing? Well, I chose that. The other option was basically house arrest with 24/7 bodyguards. I chose to leave and change my identity, and now that blew up in my face and my only options are tower arrest or changing my identity again. So, this time I'm not leaving."

"But what about the dessert bar?"

"You run the place anyway. I'll see what job Pepper can line me up with here and, trust me, it'll be enough for you to keep up with both the dessert bar and the apartment. Unless... You could stay here too. I know the commute would be awful, but this place is a ton nicer than our apartment" She had thought it might be hard to fall back into being Darcy, that Max's penchant for solitude would be harder to kick, but who was she kidding? Darcy'd only ever truly succeeded in being Max Black for a few months before her true Darcy nature had kicked into high gear. Darcy's always collected strays. She couldn't imagine sending Caroline back to their shitty apartment in Williamsburg to manage their cute little dessert bar alone, or worse yet, make her go back to the diner alone.

But the diner was toast, she remembered, a little surprised that she had managed to forget, even for a moment, the total disaster that had happened literally just the night before. Han was probably inconsolable.

"Look, just, lets think about it okay. We've got lunch with Pepper in about half an hour. So we'll talk to her about it, then we'll take it from there." Caroline nodded and went back to her makeup, muttering about having lunch with THE Pepper Potts. She stopped halfway through the eyeliner on one eye, spinning to face Darcy with a horrified look on her face.

"The video yesterday. The man with the metal arm, that was James, wasn't it?" She asked. Darcy nodded and opened her mouth to talk when Caroline collapsed back into the sink, hyperventilating.

"I lived with an ASSASSIN for how long? And you knew?" She whisper yelled at Darcy, moving to splash water on her face and then stopping at the last second to not ruin the makeup she'd managed to already put on.

"Caroline, relax. It's just James. That wasn't James in the video, okay? He wasn't in control" she rubbed her hand down Caroline's back as she looked at her in confusion.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Half an hour later and Caroline was redoing her makeup again after crying off the original stuff. Darcy'd brought Caroline into the living room and introduced her to Jarvis before having Jarvis bring up all the files they had on James Barnes and the winter soldier, then gave him access to her own files on the winter soldier. The ones she'd stolen from the shieldra info dump and erased from every other corner of the internet. She'd cried. They both cried. It was hard not to, seeing all the fucked up things hydra had done to him. Darcy once again felt the burning rage well up in her and forced herself to take several deep breaths before going to get ready for lunch with Pepper.

Darcy's closet was stocked with a multitude of styles, all the clothing in her exact sizes. She picked out a ruched pencil skirt and paired it with a slim fitting button down tucked into the skirt. Overall it was a bit too uptight of an outfit for her, so she threw on a pair of pink chucks with it and pulled out a cropped leather jacket from one section of the closet.

Caroline came out dressed in cashmere pants and a ruffled top, her regular 6 inch heels on her feet and a new strand of pearls around her neck.

"Perfect, dressy enough for lunch with a CEO, but causal enough for the fact that we aren't leaving the tower." Darcy laughed and fluffed her curls around her head before leading Caroline out of the apartment.

Jarvis kindly led them to the Restaurant they were meeting Pepper at. She was standing in front of the elevator when they got off, talking to some who, judging by the sleek outfit and heels and the large tablet in her arm, was Pepper's assistant. Pepper saw them immediately and stopped mid sentence, rushing to meet them and enveloping Darcy in another warm hug, just like the previous night. She dropped her arms and moved to Caroline, hugging the stunned woman as well.

"Darcy, Caroline, Thank you for meeting with me. Our table is back here" She said, moving toward the back of the room. The whole floor was basically an open space, with half walls in strategic places to allow for the feel of privacy. The whole space was sleek,glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, large windows looking out over the city in every direction, the chairs looked fluffy and comfortable. It looked more like a high class waiting area in a fashion designers office than a restaurant. Darcy thought she was used to Pepper's extravagance by now, but it seemed like she was wrong.

Her and Caroline followed Pepper over toward one of the half walls, cutting them mostly off from the rest of the room, the table right up against the windows that looked like it they been tinted to keep out most of the light. The table was already filled with food, plates and plates of brunch type foods, even though it was definitely past the normal time for a traditional "brunch". Not that Darcy minded, she'd go for a stack of pancakes and fried chicken any time of day and Caroline seemed excited about the _"authentic French crepes"_. Pepper took another moment, finishing her conversation with her assistant before joining them at the table and pulling one of the peach crepes toward herself.

"Hope you don't mind. I was in the mood for breakfast foods today" she told them as Darcy shoved a giant fork full of pancakes slathered in strawberry syrup in her mouth. She shook her head and made a few grunting noises through her mouth full of food. Caroline swung her head toward her and looked appalled at her behavior, kicking her in the shin. But Pepper only smiled at them.

Darcy and Pepper had only spent a few months together of the course of the years, after she'd found out Tony Stark was her father of course, but they'd bonded incredibly quickly. Pepper was more of a mom to Darcy than her own mom ever had been. There was just something she found so soothing and comforting about the other woman's presence, like she exuded light and competence and safety. Pepper had adjusted to having Darcy as pseudo daughter so quickly that it was sometimes hard to believe she hadn't always been in Darcy's life. Her quiet presence across the table had Darcy's shoulders releasing tension she hadn't even been aware she was holding onto.

They were halfway through their meal before anyone spoke. Of course, it was pepper. She pulled two big tablets out of her purse, handing one to Darcy and one to Caroline.

"Standard Stark tech. All employees and residents get them. Tony is upgrading the phones he wants you to have right now. Don't try to argue with him, he'll go on a rant about apple tech and trust me, you want to avoid that" she said, tone laced with exasperated fondness. Darcy rolled her eyes, she'd heard it from Pepper before.

"There's a blueprint of the building on there, outlining which floors hold which offices, as well as all of the safe rooms in the building and all emergency protocols.

As you see, all the floors above this one are Avengers only floors. There's a list of approved personal who may regularly be seen on those floors, including avengers, other residents, cleaning and maintenance crews, chefs, personal shoppers, and stylists. These people will wear specialized badges at all time denoting which floors they are allowed to be on, it'll be the same every time. Occasionally Tony will host a party on the common floor, unfortunately we can't do quiet the same amount of" she paused, seeming to be looking for just the right word.

"Invasion of privacy?" Darcy offered cheekily, earning her another light kick in the shin. Pepper's smile turned up again at her and she shook her head good naturedly.

"Yes. We can't invade their privacy quite as much. But Jarvis does a great job of weeding out threats and all Stark Industries properties are arguably the most secure buildings in the world.

This restaurant is open 24/7 and is open to all the residents and employees, however there is also a food court on the floor below us with more fast food type options that most employees seem to prefer. My office is on the floor directly below that one. Jarvis is disabled from communicating on this floor and below, except for the elevators. It isn't public knowledge that Jarvis is sophisticated enough to run the whole building, but we didn't want to make it seem like we were trying to keep the AI a secret." She shrugged her elegant shoulders and watched while they finished eating, both the girls looking over their tablets and familiarizing themselves with the details.

When they were done Pepper stood, motioning silently for the girls to follow her. She led them to the elevator, which silently brought them one floor below. The stepped off into what looked exactly like a mall food court, just somehow fancier. Somehow the clashing colors of the various fast food joints were melded harmoniously with a mix comfortable arm chairs with low tables and high top tables with bar stools dotting the area in the middle. Dead center in front of the elevators was a set of glass doors to what looked to be an empty cafe. It was the only place that had it's own seating area, set apart from the bustle of the food court. Pepper led them straight toward it, taking out a small key and opening the doors. As they walked through the lights turned on.

"This" Pepper said, gesturing around with her arms wide "is yours, if you want it." Darcy stared dumbly at her before looking around the empty room.

"What?"

"You'll have the budget, of course, to decorate however you'd like. And you can talk about employees hours and wages later, there's a page with the stark industries model and our standard hours and wages you can look over first. There's also a list of hiring agencies listed to make it easier to staff both this location and the location in Williamsburg." She went on, leading them toward the back and the kitchen.

"Oh, My, God. What is happening right now? Am I sleeping? Max, am I sleeping? Pinch me. OW!" Caroline was having a conniption and Darcy was half convinced she was going to pass out on the floor. She glared at Darcy as Darcy pinched her hard on the arm.

"Thank you Pepper, of course we want the space. Thank you for this and for the rooms." She hugged the other woman again, reveling in the fact that she was back and able to do it.

"It wasn't me, Darcy. It was your father." Pepper told her, leaning against one of the gleaming silver countertops in the state of the art kitchen. They both must have looked as confused as she felt because pepper started laughing at them and shaking her head.

"Tony had the suite custom made for you when he built the tower. The other rooms were originally for Dr. Foster and Dr. Selvik, but then you disappeared and Dr. Selvik decided to retire to teaching. Jane used the room for a few months, but then Thor came back and she moved into his room in the tower. Once he heard about Caroline he had the room set up for her. He's also had a stable rented for Chestnut for a last few years, he was moved there this morning.

This was also his idea. He heard about Max's homemade cupcakes and immediately had this place renovated and reserved for you." She was gentle but firm as she spoke, making it known in no uncertain terms that darcy was to not try to turn this back on him in some way.

"Oh." She wasn't sure whether to feel bad or not. In a way she did. She grew up in an awful place with a mother who didn't give two shits about her. The stuff was nice, the thought he put into it was nice, but she would have rather had him there all those years.

"Fuck. I guess I owe him an apology, right?"

"You don't owe anyone an apology Ma-Darcy" Caroline told her, crossing her arms over her chest. Darcy smiled at her but shook her head.

"Actually, I think I have a lot of apologizing to do. Thank you Pepper, but I have some apology cupcakes to make". She gave pepper another hug before rolling up her sleeves and promptly turning to acquaint herself with her brand new kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who’s wondering, I had my MRI last week, figured out that I have had a tear in my labrum of my hip for about 5 years now and I’ll have surgery to fix it next week!  
> It’ll be about a 6 month recovery time, so I should have plenty of time to write. Lol.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cupcakes are made  
> Tears are shed  
> Darcy has a science crush on Bruce  
> Thor’s a softy  
> Steve’s frustrated (and can be an ass)  
> Tony can also be soft  
> And Darcy is forgiving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is quite a bit shorter than normal, but I really needed to end it there, since I want to get this out before my surgery. I will try to update once more this week, but I’ve got so much crap to do that I’m not sure I’ll be able to get much writing done. But I will try!

It'd taken the rest of the day to make the cupcakes. First the hour they had to wait for the groceries to be delivered, which was ten times faster than it would have been if they had to go shopping themselves. Then the mixing and the baking and the frosting. They had industrial equipment now, which made the process easier, but it was still mostly just Darcy doing the work. And she had cupcakes to make for _a lot_ of people, two of which had super appetites. Or at least, she was assuming Steve did based on James' past eating habits.

She arranged cupcakes on multiple platters and put them away for the morning, deciding it was just way too late and she'd gotten way too little sleep to go about doing everything tonight. The last platter she brought with her, carrying it carefully onto the elevator and telling Jarvis where to bring her.

She'd never been on this level before, since she'd really only been in a select few places that day, but it looked the same as any other high tech lab she'd been in. She recognized most of the equipment as she walked through the door, seeing a few new things, and less things held together with duct tape than she was expecting.

The scientist she came to see was flitting about in front of a whiteboard, a marker in one hand and a small piece of equipment in the other. She was frowning hard down at the beeping metal before scribbling furiously on the whiteboard and then repeating the process. There were two interns sitting in chairs watching her, tablets propped in their laps while they used electronic pencils to try to copy her notes down while also keeping up with and noting whatever she was babbling about. There was another intern in the back, moving something around, which managed to catch the tiny scientists attention and she spun toward him, waving her arms and yelling at him to stop messing with her settings. Darcy tried to stifle her giggle, but was unsuccessful. This was classic Jane on a bender. Darcy would bet any amount that Jane hadn't slept in at least 24 hours and hadn't consumed anything more than coffee and chips. She moved in between the two sitting interns, who also looked run ragged, and waited for Jane to notice her.

It took surprisingly less time than she'd anticipated, no more than a half hour, before she turned around and straightened her back, glaring at Darcy.

"Get out" she growled, and for a brief moment Darcy thought she was talking to her, but then the interns all shot to their feet and practically stampeded through the doors of the lab.

"I brought you cupcakes. If I had known this was a Code sleepy Jane I would have brought something nutritional." She tried to joke, but Jane kept a glare firmly on her face. Darcy moved over to Jane's desk, which she could spot a mile away from how disorganized it was, and set the plate of cupcakes on it.

"Those are all yours, don't let Thor eat them all. He'll get his own tomorrow.

You don't have to say anything, but I just.... I need to let you know. You're my sister Jane. I'll always think of you as my sister. What I did, leaving like that, it was fucked up. I know, I'm sorry." She was fighting back tears. She thought she could get through it stone faced, but having Jane right in front of her, glaring at her coldly, like she was nothing to her, it hurt so much more than she could have ever anticipated. They stared at each other for a few minutes. Enough time that Darcy thought Jane was going to stay angry and silent, praying to leave before she started full on bawling. But then Jane's shoulders slumped and tears started running down her face. Darcy had an armful of sobbing scientist before she had fully registered the woman moving.

"I missed you so much!" Jane sobbed into Darcy's shoulder. Darcy clutched her back, probably hard enough to bruise, but all she could focus on was the fact that Jane _didn’t_ hate her.

"Natasha told me what happened. I should have answered when you called. I should have. But I was so scared you'd hate me after what I said to you. I hate myself for just not answering the damned phone".

"It's okay Janey. It's okay. I could _never_ hate you. Not ever." Darcy steered them toward the couch in what looked to be a sort of "break room" type area set up in the lab and collapsed onto it.

"Me neither. I could never hate you, Darcy." And for the second night in a row Darcy fell asleep on a couch with one of her closest friends.

Waking up tangled up with the tiny scientist was such a _familiar_ feeling that Darcy almost started crying all over again. The lab was almost completely black and Darcy could hear Jane still snoring where the brunette's head was resting on her chest. She struggled to pull her phone out without disturbing the other woman and checked the time. Almost 11 in the morning, she'd finally managed to get a good amount of sleep, but she could feel the multiple nights on the couch wrecking her back.

"Come on sleepy head, time to get up" Darcy whispered, shaking Jane's shoulder gently until she woke up.

"Noooo" she said groggily, rolling over and falling off the couch, curling into a ball on the floor where she landed.

"Get up and I'll look the other way while you eat nothing but cupcakes for brunch." Darcy bribed. Jane sat up where she was on the floor and made sleepy grabby hands toward her desk. Darcy sighed and got up, grabbing the plate of cupcakes and depositing them on the coffee table in front of Jane. She spotted a coffee machine in the corner, one of the high tech complicated ones and practically sprinted to it.

She snagged a cupcake off the plate as she handed Jane her coffee, ignoring the huff of annoyance she got in response.

"Come with me to the shop when you're done. I got two dozen of these for Thor".

Jane and Caroline helped her deliver the rest of the cupcakes that morning. They stopped first at Steve's door, Jarvis assuring them that the Captain was working out before letting them into his apartment. Despite Caroline wanting to snoop, they managed to leave the cupcakes on the counter and move on the Natasha and then Clint's rooms within five minutes. They all must have been training together since none of them were in their rooms. Bruce however, was home, answering the door with a steaming cup of tea and a confused look on his face.

"Sorry to disturb you, Bruce. This is my old assistant, Darcy, and her friend Caroline. They just moved in and wanted to say hi" Jane said, introducing them both and gesturing to Darcy who silently held out the plate full of cupcakes.

"Hi" she breathed out "Iloveyou, here's some cupcakes."

"Ummm. Thank you?" Bruce asked, the confusion never leaving his face.

"Sorry, sorry. I read all your papers, you're so brilliant." Darcy gushed, practically physically restraining herself from reaching out to touch him. He blushed red at her compliment, but he gave her a sweet smile and a soft "Thank you." Before inviting her to visit him in his lab sometime. By the time he closed his door on them she was practically hyperventilating. Jane was patting her on the back commiserating with her, telling her about her full blown breakdown after meeting Bruce the first time, while Caroline followed them down the hall confused. They followed Jane to her own apartment with Thor, who was absolutely delighted to see Darcy and her friend again. And was moved to tears after hearing how Darcy and Jane had made up the night before. There was something about seeing the huge god cry that made the rest of them cry too. So they sat in Jane's apartment crying and laughing and eating cupcakes for longer than they had planned on.

*

He was tired, and sweaty, and frustrated. Not even the 20 mile run or the hour tearing apart punching bags made him feel even a little better. He could have have spent another hour or two taking out his anger on Stark's gym. Except when Nat and Clint walked in joking and laughing it took every ounce of control he had to not turn and bite their heads off over absolutely nothing. So instead he'd clenched his jaw and stalked back to his room.

It'd been almost over two years now since Shield went down in D.C. A little over two years since he found out his best friend, and the person most important to him in the world, was still alive. He and Sam had spent the first eight months searching every abandoned base they could find; shield, hydra, military, it didn't matter. They hadn't stopped in any one place for more than a few days at a time, and only to let Sam rest. He'd finally admitted defeat and retreated back to the Avengers tower once they'd exhausted every lead they had. Not that they stayed around the tower often anyway, usually resting for a few weeks and then leaving again to continue the search. Every failure hit harder than the last, so when they'd come up empty handed again the last time, after Natasha had been so _fucking sure_ , it'd left him teetering on the edge of a damned mental breakdown.

Which was probably why the moment he walked into his room, he was instantly angry. Sitting on his table was a tray of two dozen cupcakes. There were a few different kinds, each one looking even more delicious than the last, but he couldn't even notice it.

"Jarvis, who's been in my room and how did they get?" He practically growled out, throwing his gym shoes across the room toward the shoe rack.

"Miss Lewis and Miss Channing are the newest residents of the tower. They wished to leave you a gift so I let them in. I can assure you that they went straight to the table and straight out again, touching nothing, Captain Rogers." The answer should have made him feel better, but for some reason, unknown to even him, it made him grit his teeth in annoyance.

"Bring up their files for me please, Jarvis" he moved toward his computer, opening the laptop on the desk in his bedroom and waiting while the files popped up.

He read through the file on Caroline Channing first. There wasn't much to it, she was a normal girl with no ties to government or anyone currently residing in the tower, nor did she have any qualifications for Stark Industries more secret projects. His confusion seemed to tamp down his anger for a moment, at least until he switched files. The next one had a name only: _Darcy Lewis_. Everything else in the file was unavailable, even her picture was blacked out.

"Jarvis, why can't I access Miss Lewis' file?"

"I'm afraid you don't have clearance for that, Captain Rogers."

"I'm sorry? Why not?"

"You'll have to talk to Mr. Stark"

He didn't even put shoes on or change out of his sweat soaked clothes, just marched straight down to Tony's lab, which was usually the best place to find the man.

"Who pissed in your cheerios this morning, Cap?" Tony asked the moment he walked through the doors.

"Who the hell is Darcy Lewis and why do I not have clearance to view her file?" He bit out, trying his hardest to slow down and not yell, which was hard around Tony in the first place, let alone when he was angry.

"None of your business. You'll meet her eventually." Tony shrugged, turning back to the blow torch in his hand.

"Tony! It is my business when you move unknown people into the same place as the Avengers! This is no place for helpless civilians to be living." He was trying to make a point, but even he wasn't quite sure what it was. His brain felt a little like it was melting.

"Don't worry, Captain Tightass, I can take care of myself" the voice caught him off guard in a way that hadn't been done since he'd seen Bucky's face under the winter soldier's mask. He spun around quickly. She was standing framed in the doorway of the lab, her curls left loose around her shoulders in a way that made him want to run his hands through them. The bright red of her lipstick drew his eye right to the frown placed firmly on her lips as she glared right at him, a plate filled with more cupcakes balancing on one palm while the other hand was rested on her hip. He blinked and snapped his jaw shut. His brain must actually be melting.

Tony laughed, pointing a finger toward the woman who could only be one Darcy Lewis.

"You and I may get along yet, kid." He said, before putting his blowtorch to the side and leaning back against the table. The woman rolled her eyes at Tony but stepped into the lab. He watched her walk toward the other man and set the plate down next to him.

"If you're done throwing a fit now, Cap, I have a conversation I need to have with Mr. Stark. I plan on throwing in a few naughty words and I wouldn't want to be a bad influence on _Mr. Truth, Justice, and Freedom_ ".She was being just as sarcastic as Stark usually was with him, but where with Tony he usually had some sort of retort, with her he had nothing. He couldn't even make himself open his mouth to say anything to her, so instead he clenched his jaw again and stomped back out to the elevator. Natasha was leaning against the wall next to the lab, her arms crossed over her chest and a teasing smirk on her face.

"Smooth" she remarked as he walked by. He didn't respond to her either, just shot her the finger over his shoulder as he walked into the elevator. Natasha's smoky laughter haunted him all the way back to his room.

*

"What crawled up his ass and died?" Darcy asked as she watched an sweaty and angry Steve march out of the room, shamelessly checking out his ass as he went. It was a damned nice sight. Tony shrugged.

"He's been pretty pissy the last few months, don't take it personally." Now it was Darcy's turn to shrug. She guessed it made sense, she was being pissy after only a few weeks without James. Steve'd been without him for a hell of a lot longer than that.

"Look, Stark -"

"Tony" he cut in, seemingly without even thinking, "Or, uh, Dad, If you want to." He looked away, grabbing his blowtorch again and fiddling with it. Darcy blinked at the suggestion and shook her head slowly.

"Tony," she restarted, "I'm sorry that I blew up at you yesterday. And thank you, for the apartment, for the shop, for the stable for chestnut. It was all great of you, so, yeah, thank you. I don't want us to hate each other, okay? We don't have to like each other but we shouldn't constantly be at each other's throats.

I just want you to know that I appreciate it. But it doesn't make up for you not being there for my entire childhood, or even after." She took a deep breath, feeling like the weight she held on her chest for years, ever since she found out she had a father, one who actually knew about her, was finally starting to lessen.

She started to turn, suddenly wanting to get out of there as fast as she could, but she was stopped by Tony's hand on her arm.

"I'm sorry" he said, still not looking at her, "I found out about you when you were 17, and by then you'd already graduated MIT with a PHD and were started on your second one. If you remember the tabloids at all, I was a mess, I've always been a mess, I'm still a mess. What the hell right did I have to try and show up in your life as an alcoholic womanizer who'd probably just end up screwing you up. I thought I was doing what was best for you, staying away. I have no right being a parent, I can't even be a functional person.

But look at you! You're a gorgeous, brilliant, talented young woman with two PHDs and two masters, and business, all things you achieved all on your own. You've always been better off without me." He finally looked up at her, the look of total vulnerability on his face throwing her completely off balance. She'd seen plenty of expressions on him, had more often than not cursed his stupid face on the cover of magazines, but never had she seen this type of vulnerability. She wasn't even aware he had the capacity for it.

"Yeah, and you left out the part where I became a badass warrior trained by the Black Widow." She joked, trying to lighten the mood a little. It worked and he smiled at her.

"You might have thought you'd be bad for me, but we'll never know now. And I would have rather had a dad than any of that stuff. But... Better late than never, right?" She said, watching his face morph from his pained expression to one of careful hope.

"Yeah, yeah, better late than never, kid" he said, pulling her into his arms and hugging her like it was something they'd done a million times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t be too mad at me for making Steve a bit of an asshole for a second, it won’t last long.  
> And don’t be mad that I had Darcy kinda sorta forgive Tony, they still have a long way to go.


	10. Chapter 10: part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how short this is. I figured I should at least update with what I have so far instead of making you wait who knows how long.  
> My surgery went great, they ended up having to put 4 anchors in my hip while repairing the damage, after anticipating only one originally. I couldn’t feel my entire leg for days. Lol. I was on so many drugs that I literally can’t remember a few whole days, so that was fun.  
> but, I got my stitches out today, I’m healing great, I can walk on my own again (mostly). Doctor said I should be pain free in the next 2-3 months.  
> My anxiety/depression meds have been adjusted again, and I’m feeling absolutely amazing.  
> Not sure how often I’ll be writing now with this quarantine thing. I got both kids home from school, dance, and baseball.

They'd settled in effortlessly, the tower feeling more like home than they could have anticipated. Caroline got along with Jane like they'd been friends their whole lives, despite just how totally different they were. And after the first day Caroline had met Thor she'd been almost immune to the attractiveness of the large blonde god, not that she didn't tell Jane at least once a day just how jealous she was of the tiny scientist. She still fangirled over Pepper every time they ran into each other though, which had happened about four or five times in the almost two weeks since they'd moved in. Darcy rolled her eyes every single time and made fun of her mercilessly after Pepper left, every time. Which turned around to bite her in the ass that morning when they ran into Dr. Banner in the common room and Darcy's brain promptly shut down. She wasn't sure Caroline would ever let her live it down.

She was still teasing Darcy about it when they opened the shop. It'd come together easily with all of Pepper's resources. All they'd really had to do was paint the walls, pick out table and chair sets, and hire a few employees. The kitchen was already completely perfect and Starbucks itself would weep over their coffee setup. They'd only managed to hire one barista so far, but would be adding a few more along with another baker or two. They'd focused on hiring for the dessert bar since neither of them would be spending much time there. They'd managed to fully staff it and Caroline had been spending her nights training the new managers.

It was about 6 in the morning by the time Darcy made it out of the kitchen to make sure the cute cafe tables were all cleaned off while Caroline started on clean up in the kitchen in between batches of cupcakes cooking. It wasn't abnormal to have one or two people in the shop so early in the morning, technically Stark Industries was a 24/7 company and a few people would come in before heading home for the night or before starting their shifts for the day. Once they had the staff, they'd stay open all night too.

So even though people in the shop was normal, huge men hiding their faces in hoodies in the corner of the room was in fact, not normal. Especially since from the hours of 4 am to 8 am they had a chime on the door to alert them of customers while they were in the back baking. A chime that never went off. And normally all of that would have Darcy immediately on alert, maybe even reaching for her gun at this point, if she hadn't recognized the man the moment she glanced his way.

Her heart thudded in her chest as she made her way over to him, trying her hardest to seem completely causal.

"You know, big guy, we normally take orders at the counter" she said, pressing her palms flat on the table in front of him and leaning over it. He was smirking at her when he lifted his head, scooting his chair out and angling it so that she could jump straight into his lap.

"I leave for a few weeks and you get into a shootout. What am I gonna do with you, darling?" He laughed, wrapping his arms around her.

"Hmmm. Maybe you just shouldn't leave me again" she teased, her fingers finding their way into the hair at the nape of his neck and pulling gently. His eyes burned into hers and even though he was smiling and teasing, she could tell just how worried he must have been. She practically squeed in happiness and shifted to straddle his lap.

"You're trouble" He whispered, pulling her down to him before she was even settled and claimed her mouth in a desperate kiss. They lost themselves in the feel of the other, James's hands on her waist while both of hers were threaded through his hair as they kissed. They were so distracted that they both missed the chime of the door and the footsteps until they heard a very uncomfortable clearing of a throat a few feet behind James. He tensed up beneath her as Darcy's head shot up in surprise at the newcomer. Fucking Steven Rogers. Captain America was standing just a few feet away from where she was making out with his best friend. Shit.

"Uh, is this a bad time, Miss Lewis?" He asked, his cheeks were vaguely pink, his jaw was tense, and he wasn't looking directly at them.

"Uh.... Uh, no, no. We're open. Sorry." She stammered, moving from her spot on James's lap and straightening her clothes as she did. She moved toward the counter, hoping Steve would follow her and ignore the other man. He did, after staring at the back of James's hooded head for a moment. James took the opportunity of Steve's distraction and moved toward the door.

"Hey, babe, wait for me up in my room. I'll have Caroline cover for me and meet you up there soon." She called to his retreating back. He nodded.

"Sure thing, Darce" he called over his shoulder, somehow changing his entire voice to sound gravely, like he'd been smoking two packs of cigarettes a day for 30 years.

"So. A, uh, friend of yours?" Steve asked after James had disappeared from sight.

"Yeah, my boyfriend, James" she said, trying to control the slight wince as she said the name James. Steve either didn't notice or ignored it, "So, what can I get you, Cap?"

"Um, just a large black coffee and two of those chocolate bacon cupcakes?" He phrased it as a question and she suddenly wondered exactly what he was doing here. Neither one of them had really made a good first impression and while they'd run into each other once or twice in the hallways they'd both kind of just ignored the other. The last time they'd even seen each other was days ago, at 3 in the morning when it seemed neither of them could sleep. She'd walked into the gym and had frozen in the doorway when she spotted Steve, shirtless and bare knuckled, pounding away at a punching bag like it was solely responsible for every bad thing that happened in the world. She could do nothing other than helplessly watch the sweat drip down his back as the muscles in his back and biceps twitched and contracted with every movement he made. She must have eventually made a noise because his back tensed and straightened as he turned to look over his shoulder at her, a heavy scowl set on his face. It was then that she was finally able to notice the blood smears on the bag in front of him. They'd stared at each other for a second before she moved farther into the gym.

"It's Bucky, isn't it?" She'd asked softly, not exactly knowing what sort of response she expected, but when a few minutes went by with him doing nothing but glaring at her she couldn't stop herself from fidgeting.

"He'll come back when he's ready, Steve" she finally said, watching the pain flit over his face as he closed his eyes and turned away from her, going back to beating up the bag.

"Hey, I mean it. He loves you, he just needs time, okay? Everyone needs time after trauma. Instead of focusing on the bad, focus on the fact that he's healing. It's a _good thing_. I know it sucks not knowing where he is, but trust the fact that he's healing. _Trust him_ , Steve." He gave no indication at all that he'd heard her, nothing other than the tensing of his shoulders and the fact that every punch was harder than the last until the bag split open, spilling sand everywhere. She'd sighed and turned away, starting a treadmill up and ignoring him for the rest of her time in the gym. He'd broken three more bags before her two hour run was up and she retreated back to her room.

This was the first time he'd even talked to her and she knew he wasn't here for the coffee since he had his own coffee maker in his room, everyone did.

"I've only got left overs from yesterday for the cupcakes, is that okay?" He nodded his head.

"Yeah, yeah, of course" he pulled his wallet out as she put the cupcakes in a cardboard cupcake box and slid the box and his coffee over to him. She waved her hand at him when she caught sight of it.

"I think it'd be some sort of treason if I made a national icon pay for day old cupcakes and black coffee, Cap. You're good" He seemed surprised, and like he was about to argue, so she shook her head at him as she walked backward toward the kitchen.

"Nope, arguing with Darcy is not allowed and I've got a hot date to get to, so scram!" She said, waving him out the door. He gave her a strained sort of smile, but followed her instructions and left.

"What's that about a hot date?" Caroline asked as Darcy walked through the kitchen.

"James is here!" She exclaimed, rushing over to where Caroline was taking cupcakes out of the oven and helped her switch them over to the cooling racks.

"He's what? How? When?" Darcy quickly caught the hot pan that Caroline had fumbled at the news, placing it swiftly on the cooling rack as if it never happened.

"James is here and waiting for me. There's 4 more batches of batter made and waiting to go in the oven, and all the frostings are in the fridge and labeled with which cupcakes they go to. You got this for a few hours?" She showed Caroline where everything was, over explaining things that Caroline already new, before Caroline was laughing and literally shoving Darcy out the door toward the elevators.

"Say hi to James for me!" She called to Darcy before the elevator doors closed. And then Darcy was alone, on her way up to see her boyfriend who'd she'd missed so fucking much. She was going to jump him first _but then_ she was gonna bitch him out about how long he went without contacting her. And then she was going to grill him about how the hell he managed to sneak into one of the most secure buildings in the world. Maybe her priorities were backwards, but she didn't quite care at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me on tumblr at Kylie-Persephone. I’ll be posting the only “funny” video I got of being drugged up. Unfortunately it isn’t very funny. I was hoping to be one of the people who saw Ellen, but apparently I was only concerned about christmas.


	11. Chapter 10 Part 2

The apartment was silent when she walked in and for a moment she thought James had left. She knew that the close call with Steve had probably spooked him, but she'd hoped he'd have been waiting for her on the couch.  
She moved silently through the apartment, slowly opening her bedroom door. She could hear the shower running from out in the hallway, the bathroom door opened a crack with steam spilling out. She walked to the bathroom, collecting the clothes James had left strewn about the room, clearly having been shed them on his way through. She moved into the room quietly, folding his clothes and places them onto the bench before going to the linen closet and pulling out an extra rob to hang next to hers next to the shower.   
His head was bowed under the stream of water, his skin pink from the heat where it was hitting his skin. She could tell by his demeanor that he hadn't been ready to see Steve. She sighed to herself, leaning against the shower wall, just watching him as he seemed to continue sinking in on himself. Finally, she couldn't wait for him to look at her anymore, so she moved to him, ducking under the water and folding her arms around him. He tensed slightly at the touch before leaning into her and wrapping himself around her and clutching onto her tightly. She smoothed her hands over his back as the hot water fell over them.   
"I'm sorry" he whispered after long moments of silence. She shook her head where it leaned against his chest.  
"Don't you ever be sorry for feeling things James Buchanan Barnes." She told him, forcing his head up to look her in the eyes for the first time since she'd entered the shower. She hated when he apologized for normal human reactions. Especially when he'd come so incredibly far. In the early days she'd often find him curled in a ball, shaking and sobbing, under ice cold water that turned his lips blue. It'd absolutely broken her heart every time she'd found him laying there. Every time she'd had to spend hours trying to remind him who he was, where he was, that he was okay, he wasn't being punished. Now, seeing just how far he'd come, she felt her heart fill with hope. Maybe he wasn't ready to stay yet, but soon. Maybe soon he'd be ready.  
They stood cuddled up together under the warm spray of the water for longer than they'd ever been able to before, both of them reveling in the unending supply of hot water the tower provided. Darcy gently washed James's hair and he in turn washed hers, both of them taking their time and massaging the soap into each other's scalps before moving on to wash each other's bodies. Neither of them talked again, content in their silence as they relearned each others bodies, enjoying the feel of being close again after the long weeks they'd been apart.   
Darcy pressed herself fully against James, enjoying the feel of his hardness against her soft curves, her body practically vibrating with the need to be as close as possible to him. She let out a soft gasp when he swooped down to pick her up without warning, wrapping her legs around his waist and pressing her back against the cool tile of the shower as he gently worked himself inside of her. Their eyes locked and Darcy felt like she was drowning, his blue eyes speaking all the words he wasn't verbalizing himself. She hoped her own were showing him the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meant to have this out earlier in the week.   
> Sorry this one is so short too, but 🤷♀️  
> How’s everyone doing with the quarantine?


	12. Chapter 11

Darcy woke slowly, eyes blinking open reluctantly as she tried to burrow further into the warm arms surrounding her. The chest underneath her head vibrated as James spoke.

"Shut it off" his words were thick with sleep, his eyes remaining unopened as he shoved his face into Darcy's hair. It took her a few moments of blinking blurrily at him before she realized he meant her phone, which was currently going off annoyingly from the night stand. She rolled over in his arms, James loosening the circle enough for her to reach over and silence the offending object.

"Yeah? Wasit" she asked, practically incoherently, into the phone.

"Your father would like to know what you'd like ordered for lunch." The female voice on the other side of the phone woke her up slightly as she pulled the phone away from her face to check the time. Almost 1pm, shit.

"Uhhh, I'm not gonna be making it for lunch again today, tell Tony I'm sorry" she shivered as James started kissing the back of her neck, working his way down her throat, his hands slowly caressing their way down her body. She tossed him a glare over her shoulder and put the phone to her chest.

" _Behave_ , James. It's my _mother_ " she hissed out a whispered warning. James laughed out loud, making a big show out of moving both of his hands off of her body and behind his head. She crinkled her nose at his smartassiness and put the phone back to her ear.

"Darcy?"

"Yeah, sorry, was dealing with something real quick."

"This is the third day in a row you're skipping out on lunch. Tony didn't say or do anything stupid did he?" Pepper asked, but Darcy could just _hear_ the smile in her voice. Pepper knew Tony hadn't pissed her off, she was just baiting her. Darcy rolled her eyes and sighed heavily into the phone.

"We both know that isn't it. If you muuuust know, I have a gentleman caller over, _moooom_ " She got twin laughs from her audience at her terrible fake English accent and rolled her eyes at them both this time.

"Thank you. That's all I wanted to hear. Don't hole up in your room for too long, we miss you around here. And I hope we get to meet this _gentleman caller_ soon" Darcy rolled her eyes once again, announcing out loud that she was, before promising to have lunch with Pepper and Tony soon and hanging up.

James instantly pounced on her the moment the phone was no long in her hands, dragging her back down onto the bed and under his body.

"Now I almost feel bad for monopolizing all of your time" he said in between kisses.

"Mmm. Don't. There's no where else I'd rather be than right where I am now."

She should have known better than to say something like that. As soon as the words left her mouth her phone was ringing again, a frantic Caroline on the other end practically bawling as the noise in the background overwhelmed most of her words. Darcy sighed, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Duty calls" she told James, before pushing his large frame off of her. He rolled onto his back, stretching out with his hands back under his head, smirking when she stopped to just admire his naked body laid out on the bed for her.

"That woman owes me soooo much for this" she muttered as she turned her back on him. His laughter followed her into the bathroom.

The shop looked like a bomb had gone off. The whole place was filled with the bitter smell of something burning, tables were sticky and chairs overturned. The counter was covered in coffee and the milk steamer was on with a frantic blonde teenager pressing button after button trying to figure out how to turn the thing off. Darcy rushed over, turning it off quickly and turning to the girl, noticing another out of the corner of her eyes. Both of them had cute pink aprons on over their black pants/white shirt uniform with _Max's homemade cupcakes_ embroidered on them. Both girls were soaked in coffee, milk, and frosting. She shook her head but said nothing as she turned to the kitchen.

Smoke billowed out as she opened the door and she could hear Caroline coughing over the sound of the mixers turned on at full speed. She handed Caroline a towel and started waving the smoke away with one hand as she reached in with the other hand and pulled out the burning cupcakes. Caroline was in worse shape than the two teens out front. Darcy turned off the mixers and gathered all the dirty dishes to dump them in the sink then pulled Caroline out front with her. The girls had gotten the counter cleaned up, but not much more. Darcy sighed heavily and put her hands on her hips while she stared them down.

"Blondie, clean up the tables and the floors. You, tall one, get in the back, you're on dish duty. Caroline, take orders and make the coffees. Also, teach blondie how to work the machines." Darcy ordered, spinning on her heal toward the kitchen.

Thankfully, the batter that Caroline had made was done well and Darcy managed to get a few dozen cupcakes in the oven all at once, but unfortunately all of the icing had to be tossed. It didn't take too long to make it all over again and by the time she was done, both the cupcakes and the dishes were all done. She had time to finally be introduced to the two newbies, Chelsea (tall one) and Betty (blondie), while the cupcakes cooled down and helped teach them how to use the coffee machines. Betty still hadn't gotten it by the time Darcy went back to the kitchen to finish the cupcakes.

She set them all out on one table, a dozen of each type, five different types, leaving the icing in the fridge until she was ready to move on to each new one.

"MAX!" She heard Caroline call out from the front "Captain America is here to see you!"

"Come on back" she yelled back, not quite as loud as Caroline had been knowing Steve would hear her just fine.

"What can I do for you, Steve?" She asked, setting aside the last of her third dozen cupcakes, sending a glare over his shoulder toward the three faces sticking their heads through the door, failing really badly at eavesdropping. Chelsea and Betty at least had the good grace to look apologetic as they disappeared, but Caroline just shrugged and winked.

"I... Wanted to talk to you about what you said the other night" Steve's whole demeanor was much different than she'd ever seen him before. She seemed to shrink into himself, like he was trying to look smaller than he was, his voice was uneven and awkward and he didn't seem to want to meet her eye. She immediately stopped what she was doing and put her icing bag down to give him her full attention.

"Oh yeah?" She'd kinda just assumed the whole incident was going to be completely ignored, as if none of it had ever happened, and to be honest, she was completely fine with that. It felt weird talking to him about James without letting him know about her relationship with him. Especially seeing how torn up he was over it all. She wanted to wrap him up in a blanket and tell him all about James's growth in the last year, but she couldn't say a thing until James was ready and it was eating her up inside.

"Yeah...." he trailed off, looking up toward the ceiling and heaving out a large sigh that drew her eyes down to his massive chest, once again in a t-shirt that looked at least a size too small. She wondered if he did it on purpose as a distraction. "Look, I don't know what it is you _think_ you know about me and Bucky or what you were hoping to gain from this or who you were planning on telling, but let me tell you now, you-"

"Excuse me?!" Darcy screeched, cutting his words off. He'd finally looked her in the eye, posture still unsure, but eyes hard and jaw set. His tone hadn't been rude, exactly, but it was absolutely accusatory and Darcy had to physically restrain herself from punching _Captain fucking America._ He floundered for a second, his eyes widening in surprise at her outrage but before he could say another word she was pointing to the door.

"Get out of my fucking kitchen, Captain." She had one hand wrapped around the knife she kept strapped to her wrist, her knuckles turning white from clutching it so hard. _'Don't threaten Captain America, don't threaten Captain America, don't threaten Captain America'_ she chanted in her head as Steve slowly backed toward the kitchen door, his eyes trained on her like he knew she was a threat. Good.

The knife released from her hand and buried itself to the hilt as the door swung shut behind him and Darcy swore loudly.

"You were a few seconds too late, sweetheart" James voice startled her and she spun around to find him leaning against the wall in the back corner of the kitchen.

"Did it on purpose, babe. Can't actually injure the fucking national treasure, now can I?" She asked sarcastically, pulling her knife out of the door and inspecting the hole left behind. James shrugged.

"He deserved it though. Punk's always been terrible at talkin' to pretty women, but that was bad" he said, grabbing one of her hands and pulling her into his body.

"What'd ya say to get him in such a tizzy?" His hands were rubbing up and down her back, massaging out the tension that had built up over the last few hours.

"He's upset, he's worried about you, been missing you. I don't blame him, I miss you too and worry about you so much when you're gone. So I told him that I know you still love him and to just trust you, you know?"

"I miss him too. And you're right, I do still love him, a little brainwashing isn't gonna change that" he frowned, pulling her a little closer to his body, "I'm just not ready yet, doll. I wish I were, but I'm not the man he remembers, I gotta be okay with myself before I can come home. I'm sorry." He brushed the tears from her face as they started falling and smiled sadly at her.

"This isn't... temporary? Right?" The thought hit her hard suddenly. It'd crossed her mind a few times, but she'd never given it any sort of consideration. After meeting him she'd never imagined any sort of life that didn't have James Barnes in it, never imagined a scenario where he came back but not to her. But why hadn't it? She'd know very early on what his feelings for Steve were, so why hadn't she considered their relation temporary? A placeholder? Something to help him get better but nothing else?

"What? Me and you? Naw, doll. You're carved into my heart right next to that dumbass that just walked outta here. You're never getting rid of me now" she laughed into his shirt and when she looked up he was smiling again his eyes twinkling in happiness. She was still angry at Steve, still feeling guilty that she couldn't say anything to him, still upset that James was planning on leaving, but she felt better. And every hour that went by with James holding on to her, sometimes annoyingly while she was trying to finish baking, she felt even better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet?? I hope.  
> I just finished this and haven’t edited anything and am also on sleeping pills right now so everything is fuzzy, so if something doesn’t make sense, sorry!! Lol.  
> I’m trying to get back into writing every day, but I also accidentally just started 3 new stories. I wont be adding any of them on here until they’re much farther along but it’s going to take time out of this one 😩  
> Hopefully next chapter will be much longer and have much better content!  
> Hopefully everyone’s quarantines are going well, stay safe and healthy guys!


	13. Chapter 12

"Tooooony!" Darcy sang out as she walked into the lab, startling the engineer who sat up suddenly, hitting his head on the metal table above him.

"Why are you under the table?" Darcy asked as Tony scooted himself out while rubbing his head. He shrugged his shoulders and rotated his head around to loosen the tension in his neck. "You fell asleep didn't you?" She accused, folding her arms over her chest and giving him an unimpressed stare. He mimicked her, folding his own arms over his chest and staring her down. The staring contest went on until Tony finally blinked and Darcy threw her hands up in the air, letting out a whoop of triumph.

"Okay, okay, I get it." He said at her excessive celebration while pushing himself up off the floor and into a chair, "Let's eat, I'm starving."

Darcy deposited the bag of takeout on the table in front of him, pushing the odds and ends out of her way as she did, smirking at Tony's squeaks of indignation and his mumbling about disrespect for his projects. They ate in relative silence, they usually did, but the more time they spent together the less awkward it felt. Lunch with Tony wasn't something they'd discussed, it sort of happened. She'd brought him lunch a few times and suddenly they were eating together every day, unless of course Tony was passed out from a science bender or Darcy was with James. In the last few months Darcy'd gotten so comfortable with her father that she'd started hanging around his lab after they'd finished eating too, or sometimes just because she was bored. He'd never admit it, but he cleared a table in the back of his lab just for her and they'd found themselves working together, talking and laughing, for hours.

Darcy'd wanted a dad once, when she was really little. She'd dream about having someone to take her to daddy daughter dances and show up for donuts with dads at school. She'd gotten jealous of all the other kids who's parents picked them up from school, who played with them, and taught them. The older she got the more she tried to convince herself she didn't want any of that. She was fine without a father, she was fine with a druggie mother, she was fine being on her own.

She watched as Pepper walked into the lab, the music automatically quieting, going straight to Tony and giving him a kiss on the forehead before handing him a folder of papers and then turning to her and repeating the sweet gesture. It'd been a long time since Darcy had convinced herself she didn't want parents, but she knew she had been totally wrong.

"Hi mom" she said softly, smiling at the older woman. It'd started as joke, with James, but when Pepper had heard Darcy refer to her as _Mom_ she'd immediately teared up, which caused Darcy to tear up too, and then they were both a blubbering mess of happy tears and hugs and she'd never even given it a second thought. Pepper was the kind of mother she'd always wanted and she was so happy to have her now.

"What are you two troublemakers up to?" Pepper asked, glancing around at the tools and random bits they'd scattered around their work spaces.

"Working on the Iron legion, Darcy had a few ideas for some upgrades we're working into the system." Pepper almost looked like she was going to ask more questions before shaking her head and gathering up the folder of papers again.

"Family dinner tonight, Steve and Sam hit another dead end, so be extra nice to him tonight. Also, Clint's on the run from the mob again, so he's around somewhere" she said as she walked toward the door. Tony mumbled under his breath something that sounded a lot like _Captain tight ass_ and _stupid bird calls himself an assassin_. Darcy choked on a laugh, coughing into her sleeve to try to disguise the giggles until Pepper left. Her and Tony both snuck a look over their shoulders to find an unimpressed Pepper Potts staring them down. She didn't even have to say a word but they both automatically started mumbling their apologies. As soon as the doors shut behind her, however, they both burst out laughing.

They immediately stopped as the doors of the lab opened once again and Pepper stood in the doorway.

"I forgot to tell you. Take a break" she ordered. Their laughter followed her down the hall and she couldn't help the smile that broke out over her own face.

Tony hadn't wanted to listen to Pepper, but Darcy managed to bribe him to move up to the common room with the promise of whiskey and cupcakes. She'd never felt closer to the man who fathered her as she uttered the bribe. They had the whiskey poured and were just waiting on the cupcakes when Clint dropped to the pool table from one of the vents.

"What the hell did I tell you, birdbrain? You're gonna ruin my vents! They aren't made for people!" Tony yelled, picking up a magazine from the counter and rolling up to swat at him with.

"Ow, ow, ow, stop! Tony!" Clint protested, trying to shuffle away from Tony on the pool table only to fall over backwards and smash right into the floor. "Ow."

"Hey hawkass!" Darcy greeted from her spot at the bar. Clint jumped up at her voice and held his arms out wide.

"Darcy!" He cried out, dodging out of they way of Tony's magazine to tackle Darcy right off her stool. She grunted at the force of him hitting her but grabbed him and flipped him, using his momentum to toss him to the floor, landing on top of him when he reached out to grab her arm at the last minute.

"Ow" he said again, before they were both laughing, "Get off me, D." She sprang up and offered him a hand up before pulling out another glass and waving the whiskey bottle toward him in question.

"Whiskey?" He asked, "When'd you give up the tequila?"

"When we got so plastered we got kidnapped. Twice. In the same night." She said, holding up two fingers and waggling them in his face. Clint's face split into an even bigger smile at the memory. Or well, partial memory anyway.

"That night was a blast, plus, I don't remember you complaining when it gave you the courage to finally make a move on -"

"Nah uh uh!" Darcy yelled, cutting him off as she dove over the counter to cover Tony's ears.

"Not in front of my _daaaad_!" She hissed out, giving Clint a death stare. He put his hands up in surrender before miming zipping his lips. Darcy removed her hands from Tony's ears and went back to pouring Clint's drink, trying to think of anything to quickly change the subject, but she was doomed. Tony's eyes narrowed at them and he looked to Clint.

"I'm gonna need you to finish that story, bud" Tony told him in the most 'dad' voice she'd ever heard. Clint took one look at him and downed his whiskey before sprinting from the room.

"You know I don't really care, right? I mean, it's weird, but I really have no right to say anything. And it's not like I'm gonna get mad" Tony swished his whiskey around in his glass, watching the amber liquid spin slowly around the glass, not meeting her eyes.

"Yeah, I know. But it's pretty fun to fuck with Clint, right?" He met her eyes again and they smiled at each other. It wasn't often that Tony was the one to broach the subject of their weird new dad/daughter relationship, so she was looking for something else to say. Something to explain how she felt about the situation, that she felt weird too, and while maybe they'd never be a normal family, she was starting to really enjoy the way things were. But she was interrupted by the dinging of the elevator.

Caroline, pushing a rolling tray, walked off the elevator with Betsy in tow. They were deep in a discussion about some sort of business stuff that Darcy started tuning out immediately.

"Hey guys!" Caroline greeted, pulling a carafe of coffee from the lower level of the cart and plopping it onto the counter between them. She added cream and sugar next to it before pulling out three round trays of cupcakes.

"Damn, Carebear, are we feeding an army with cupcakes?" Tony asked her, using the nickname she'd absolutely hated at first, then secretly came to enjoy, but would die before she told him that.

"This is less than Thor can put away in one sitting, Tony, and I was told that the entire team would be here tonight. If everyone sticks to just two cupcakes, we should have enough for those with super appetites to have an extra." She explained, counting them out one more time, before pulling out a plate and depositing three of them on it and shoving it in their direction.

"Three cupcakes. No more. The rest are for desert for dinner." She admonished them, pointing her finger at them like they were naughty toddlers who needed scolding.

"Yes, Caroline" Darcy and Tony chorused to her as she started walking away, Betty at her heels, looking more like a well trained dog than an employee. She gave them a death glare from the elevator as they left and they rolled their eyes in unison.

Darcy pounced on the plate of cupcakes, sliding it out of Tony's reach just as he tried to snatch one off the plate.

"Hey, gimme" he protested, giving grabby hands at the plate. Darcy laughed and curled it into her stomach, hunching over on it as she ran away.

"Hey!" Tony protested louder, causing Darcy to let out her evil cackle that she'd been practicing for weeks, for whenever she decided to take over the world, she'd told her father.

"Come get 'em!" Darcy taunted, waving the plate over her head as she continued running around the room, dodging Tony's halfhearted attempts to catch her. She jumped up on the pool table and from there made the leap to the coffee table, laughing harder at Tony's squawk of surprise. She was about to jump down and run again when she felt the plate being snatched out of her hands.

"What the hell?" she yelled in surprise.

The hand Tony held up in front of her, clutching the plate of cupcakes, was cased in red and gold armor. She crossed her hands over her chest and lightly stomped a foot on the coffee table.

"That's cheating!" She pouted, jumping down from the coffee table and going back to the bar to finish her drink. Tony laughed as he followed her, holding out the plate to offer her a cupcake, which she grabbed just as he was moving the plate away again.

"Too slow old man" she gloated through a mouthful of cupcake. Now it was Tony's turn to pout, which only happened for a few seconds before he was grinning at her. She had a split second to wonder what he was so happy about before the cupcake smashed into her face. She shrieked in surprise and jumped back, raking her hands through the frosting on her face.

"You did not!" She yelled, seeing the frosting hanging from her hair.

"You did not!" Tony mocked her in a high pitched voice before taking a bite of his own cupcake. Darcy retaliated immediately by launching a cupcake at him, smashing it into the side of his head.

"What in the world is going on here?" Tony and Darcy both shot up from their places on the floor. They'd both collapsed from exhaustion and laughter, laying on the floor in front of the bar.

"Uhhh" Tony stuttered out helpfully, looking around at the mess they'd made. There was frosting and bits of cupcakes everywhere. It was on the counter, on the windows, smashed into the floor, smeared on the couches and the pool table, there was even one whole cupcake stuck to the tv by the frosting.

"She started it! Bye!" He yelled, pointing his finger at Darcy before darting to the elevator as everyone turned to look at her.

"Tony Stark! You liar!!" She yelled after him, chasing him down tackling him to the ground. She gathered up a handful of frosting from her own hair before smearing it right in Tony's face, then sat back on her heels with a self satisfied smirk on her face. That is, until she heard the distinct sound of Pepper clearing her throat from behind them.

"I don't know why I thought you two together would be a good idea" she muttered to herself. She already had her phone to her ear, the normal cleaning service on the other side. She scowled at Darcy, before shaking her head and looking toward Tony. She pointed at the elevator and he sauntered over to it like it had been his idea and he wasn't currently 5 seconds away from being chewed out by the love of his life. Darcy smirked at him as the doors were closing, giving him a middle fingered salute and having just enough time to see the look of astonishment and outrage on his face before the doors closed fully.

The chuckling behind her caught her attention and she swung around to find the person. He was leaning against a clean spot on the bar, a bottle of water dangling from his hand where his arms were crossed over his chest.

"Sammy!" She exclaimed, excitedly running at him and jumping into his arms, despite still being covered in cupcakes. She'd vaguely realized Pepper had walked in with multiple people, but hadn't been paying attention to who it was.

"Hey, D" he said, hugging her tightly before setting her back on her feet. He looked down at his clothes and made a show of complaining about the mess, making Darcy laugh. She turned again, catching sight of Steve standing in the middle of the room. He was watching them out of the corner of his eye, his body turned away from them while he pretended to survey the damage in the room. He gave up with a sigh when they both just looked at him, waiting for him to say what was on his mind.

"I didn't know you two knew each other" he stated flatly, like he was trying to hide the suspicion he obviously felt for her. Sam shrugged his shoulders and threw the bottle of water to Steve.

"Nat introduced us while we were waiting for your dumbass to wake up in the hospital. D helped scrub the internet of the files on your boy" he explained, shrugging it off like they'd met grocery shopping or something, "We kept in touch after." If anything, this seemed to make Steve even more suspicious of her, his eyes narrowed slightly, his jaw tensing. She was trying to figure out what to say when the ding of the elevator interrupted her train of thought and a team ofcleaning professionals marched through the room, not even remotely impressed to see Captain America and the Falcon standing in the room in too small, sweat soaked shirts. They did, however, give Darcy varying degrees of dirty looks as they passed by.

"Weeell, looks like that's my cue to get outta here...." she mumbled, slowly backing away as she waved awkwardly to a room full of people who obviously did not like her much. Sam laughed, the traitor.

To Darcy's surprise, she was followed into the elevator by none other than Steven Grant Rogers. He stood at the opposite side of the elevator and faced forward the entire time, but Darcy could tell he was still watching her. The man would make an awful spy. The doors opened on her floor and she hesitated before moving out, putting her hand over the door so it wouldn't close and turning to look at Steve. He met her eyes and opened his mouth slightly, like he was going to say something, but then snapped his jaw shut and straightened his back, like he was preparing for a fight. They stood watching each other for seconds that felt eternal before Darcy moved her hand off the door and stepped out backwards, their eyes still locked as the doors closed between them.

He was waiting for her in the hallway when she emerged from her room, freshly showered with clean clothes. She was just throwing her wet hair up into a haphazard ponytail, drops of water from the ends making the back of her shirt wet in spots. Her ear buds were in and she was dancing around to a peppy song mumbling the words under her breath as she shimmied out the door. She screeched when she turned and saw him leaning against the wall directly in front of her. She snagged the cord to her earbuds, yanking them out of her ears and putting a hand to her chest as she doubled over slightly.

"You just scared the bajesus outta me, Cap." She told him, watching as his frown deepened and the deep line in his forehead became more apparent. She had a sudden urge to reach out and smooth the line out, so apparently she now had a death wish.

"Is there something I can help you with?" She asked when she realized he wasn't going to speak first. He must have picked up at least a few tricks from Natasha, since he continued with his silence, watching her shift from foot to foot. It was one of the first things about interrogations that Natasha had taught her; never speak first, let them stew in the silence until they spill everything. Which Steve seemed plenty prepared to do. She sighed and rolled her neck out, turning and making her way to the elevator, Steve silently following her like a shadow.

The elevator ride was tense, with Steve not even pretending to not be watching her anymore. She rolled her eyes and silently hoped he had a good enough vantage point to see the action.

He followed her into the shop, taking up a spot leaning against the wall in the back of the kitchen when it became apparent what she was doing. Caroline raised an eyebrow at her in question and Darcy just shrugged and rolled her eyes again. It took her surprisingly few minutes to almost completely forget he was there in the first place as she went about her daily routine. The little itch in the middle of her shoulder blades telling her she was being watched was the only reminder she had that he was still in the room with her. She gathered her ingredients, measured them out, mixed them up, got them in the oven, then out of the oven, then started on the decorating, all while dancing and singing to the music blaring from the speakers at a volume that was probably too loud. But Caroline hadn't complained yet, so she didn't bother to turn it down. The sound of her phone dinging with a text was almost completely drowned out by the music.

_'I heard what happened to those cupcakes. Don't think you're off the hook just because I'm too afraid to yell at you in front of Captain America' - Caroline_

Darcy giggled at the message and typed one back right away.

_'He'd actually probably really enjoy it if you did come yell at me'_

Caroline would never though. She'd taken really well to Thor and managed surprisingly well toward Tony, even though she was mostly cool toward him, refusing to forgive him easily, but any time the rest of the team showed up all bets were off. Darcy'd found her hiding in a closet once when Natasha was walking down the same hallway as her. The girl was a problem.

Once the cupcakes were done, her and her shadow walked back to the elevator, after a long apology to Caroline, of course. Which Darcy thought was ridiculous since she'd been the one to do all the work in the first place, but she didn't bring it up.

"You ready to tell me what's up?" She asked as they stepped out onto the newly clean common room. Darcy poured herself a drink, offering it to Steve, who finally reacted to her with a shake of his head.

"Can't get drunk" he said shortly.

"That sucks" she sipped her drink, deciding suddenly she wanted a shot instead, pulling out the tequila and doing two consecutive shots while maintaining eye contact with an unimpressed looking Steve.

"Might wanna tell me whats up, Cap" she drawled, looking him up and down, purposefully trying to make him uncomfortable, "I get a little _touchy_ when I drink." She punctuated her words with a wink, biting down on her lip in the way she knew drove James crazy. She smiled internally when Steve's eyes dipped to her lips for a split second, fast enough that if she hadn't been trained by Natasha she may have brushed it off as her imagination. She took another shot, praying that her alcohol tolerance held up. While Steve may have picked up a few things from Natasha, whether through observation or through pointers, Darcy had actually been trained by Natasha. So while Steve was doing a good job of his _'silent interrogation'_ Darcy knew how to flip it around on him. Black Widow style.

She sauntered around the counter, thanking any gods out there that she had been planning on meeting up with pepper later so had dressed in a short pencil skirt that hugged her curves and a pair of stilettos that she'd have never picked out for herself, but Pepper thought would look amazing on her (Pepper was right). She popped a button on her shirt as she moved, her cleavage spilling out of her shirt just a little more since she'd already had two buttons undone. The lace of her bra was showing now and her smile grew wider as Steve's eyes dipped again, this time to her open shirt, his eyes lingering long enough that even an untrained eye would be able to tell. She sipped her drink, moving into his personal space, leaning in close enough that her breasts smashed into his chest and she had to crane her head up to look into his eyes. Her free hand was on his stomach, feeling the hard ridges of his body through the softness of his shirt. She shivered slightly at the feel of him against her and for a split second forgot what she'd even been doing. She continued to sip her drink, smirking up at him. His jaw was tense again, his cheeks tinted pink and he was again refusing to look her in the eyes.

"Won't you tell me what's on your mind, baby?" She crooned, batting her eyelashes as she caressed his chest. She frowned slightly when he said nothing. She'd been almost positive that he would have run away by now, but the least he could do was start talking. Tell her exactly why he was following her around doing a great impression of a storm cloud. She threw back the rest of her drink and leaned back, flirty smile dropping off her face.

"The fuck do you want, dude? I got shit to do and don't feel like being shadowed by Captain Grumpfuck all day. I don't have the patience to play Natasha's fucking games." Nat would be disappointed at how soon Darcy'd given in, and Darcy hoped she wasn't slinking around watching, or worse, using Steve as a test. Fuck that would suck. She frowned harder as the thought crossed her mind and she started glaring around the room, looking for evidence that Natasha was lurking.

"Does Pepper know?" She jumped slightly at his voice, forgetting for a moment that he was even there.

"What do you mean?"

"About you and Tony?" He crossed his arms over his chest and she mirrored his pose, still standing in his personal space.

"Uh, yeah. She's the one who encouraged me and Tony to have a relationship. If it wasn't for Pepper I'd still probably hate him, and while we have our problems, we're figuring them out. We'll never be a normal family, but hey, who cares about normal?" She wasn't quite sure why Steve cared, but at least it made a little bit more sense why he was so suspicious toward her. She wouldn't have been the first to claim to be Tony's kid, and it probably wouldn't stop any time soon. But they'd done the whole DNA test shit and _*ding ding*_ Tony is the father.

"I find it a little hard to believe that a woman like Pepper would encourage her partner to move a call girl in" Steve deadpanned, eyes boring holes into her skulls. The words hit her like a mac truck and she froze in her spot, her eyes widening as she processed what he was saying. She couldn't decide whether she felt like she was about to bust out laughing or throw up. She forced a laugh out of her throat anyway as she took a step backward like she'd been hit.

"What?" She asked, dazed by the way she'd been taken totally off guard by his words. She laughed again, doubling over slightly.

"That's absolutely disgusting, Cap. And fuck you, you asshole" she told him, taking another shot of tequila and moving back a few steps. She redid the button on her shirt and dug out a compact mirror from her purse to check her lipstick. Once she made sure it wasn't smudged she poured another drink, handing it off to a stoic looking Steve and turning on her fabulous heels to leave him wondering what the hell just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor stevies having a bit of a rough time right now. Good news is, he gets to make up for it soon.  
> I didn’t do a whole lot of work on this chapter and the next chapter will probably be a bit more filler ish too. But we’re getting through it!! Lol.


	14. Chapter 13

Steve nocked on Pepper's office door, not waiting for an answer before walking in. Pepper glanced up from her computer with a raised eyebrow but rolled her chair over to the clear part of her desk and motioned for Steve to sit down. He didn't. Instead he paced back and forth the length of the office a few times before stopping with both hands down on the desk.

"It's about Miss Lewis" he started, frowning at Pepper's immediate panic.

"What about her?" Pepper asked, sitting up impossibly straighter, her voice raising in pitch just slightly.

"I thi-" he was cut off by Jarvis's voice coming in stereo from Pepper's computer, phone, and iPad.

"Miss Lewis has left the building, Miss Potts." He said, voice reflecting little emotion.

"What? Who's with her?" Pepper demanded, standing from her desk.

"She has left alone" Jarvis said, "I am tracking her whereabouts through the camera systems in the city." Pepper already had her phone to her ear and sighed audibly when the person picked up.

"Thank god, Darcy, you're okay." She breathed into the phone.

 _"Course I'm okay"_ Darcy's voice hit Steve's ear, despite the phone not being on speaker, and she sounded incredibly pissed off.

"You're not supposed to leave the building without an escort Darcy. Please turn around, right now" Pepper commanded, using a tone of voice that was usually obeyed without question, by anyone other than Tony anyway.

 _"No can do, M- Hey!"_ There was a loud dull clank, like the phone had been dropped, Darcy's voice getting more faint. _"Fuck off dude!"_ She yelled. The sounds of a struggle didn't last long enough for Steve to react other than to turn wide eyes to Pepper, who was staring at the phone in her hand in horror.

"Darcy? Darcy?" She was almost yelling into the phone now, her eyes misting over slightly as she tried to get ahold of the other woman.

 _"I'm here, I'm here_ " Darcy soothed, sounding even more annoyed, _"asshole ripped my brand new shirt."_ She complained loudly, another thud coming through the phone, like she'd kicked something. She started talking again, but Steve didn't hear any of it, his body had finally unfrozen and he was running down the stairs of the building, reaching the bottom floor in less time than it would have taken the elevator.

He found her only a block away, in the back of an alley, with a scowl on her face and a pile of bodies at her feet. He stopped a few feet in front of her, his eyes raking over her searching for injuries. There was a rip in the sleeve of her shirt, a thin line of blood peaking out from under the torn edges. The button she'd undone earlier had popped, ripping off and permanently putting her cleavage on display. Other than that she looked flawless, like she'd just walked off a runway, not even a hair out of place. He walked towards her carefully, holding his hands up like she was a dangerous animal about to pounce. She snorted at his caution and held her arm up for him to inspect. He held on to her tenderly, like she'd bruise at the gentlest of grips and she rolled her eyes. Finally he put her arm down, nodding at her, indicating it was fine, which she'd already known. Neither of them seemed to want to be the one to break the tense silence. They stood in the alleyway, eyes locked, for what seemed like eternity. Darcy's furious blue eyes were burned into Steve's brain as he forced himself to keep his eyes away from what her damaged shirt had put on display. His mouth went dry as he realized just how close he'd gotten to her, like she was a magnet pulling him to her. He frowned, unable to keep his facial expression blank any longer.

A wolf whistle at the mouth of the alley drew their attention away from each other, Darcy's furious expression melting away as she saw who it was. Natasha was walking toward them easily, like cleaning up dead bodies was no big deal, which, to Natasha, it really wasn't.

"Leave any of them alive this time, kitten?" She asked sweetly, using her foot to move one of the dead guys around. Darcy huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Steve's frown deepened even more at Natasha's teasing tone.

"Yes, Milaya." Darcy said back, equally as sweet, her smile turning flirtatious again, a more genuine mirror of what she'd shown him earlier.

"Aww? For me?" She said as she felt the pulse of one of the guys, her eyes lighting up when she realized he was alive. "You need an escort if you're gonna leave the tower, mishka. Steve here can take you." She offered, giving them both a look that made it very clear it was not at all a request. Steve nodded his assent while Darcy protested. Loudly. And in Russian?

The conversation didn't last long and Darcy didn't look happy about it, but she didn't say a word as Steve trailed along behind her.

"You can go back now. I'm fine on my own" she told him when they'd gotten a fair distance from Natasha, shouldering her way through a crowd of people.

"That didn't look fine to me" he said, annoyingly keeping pace with her effortlessly. He followed behind her, a little grumpy shadow in her wake again, as she bought a new shirt to replace the ruined one, insisting on following her into the bathroom of a drugstore to clean and bandage her 'wound' for her. She rolled her eyes as he once again handled her like she was about to break and then rolled her eyes again when he began to wrap a bandage around her arm. But she stayed silent and let him overdo it. _Whatever makes him_ _feel better,_ she thought sarcastically to herself. He lowered her hand to her lap, not letting go of it yet, instead leaning over to look her in the eye.

"Why're people after you?" He asked, tone soft and for once not accusing.

"My best friend, who's much more of a sister, builds wormholes through space for fun and is dating an alien God. I've built most of her equipment myself and stared at her formulas so long they've burned holes through my brain. My father is a superhero millionaire who's apparently wronged a lot of people, my pseudo mother is the CEO of one of the biggest corporations in the world. And at one point I was sleeping with the black widow" _'And I'm dating the winter soldier'_ but she couldn't say that part out loud. Instead she yanked her hand out of his grasp and folded her arms over her chest. Now it was his turn to look shell shocked at her, blinking rapidly as he took in the information that she'd spewed in practically one breath. His cheeks tinted pink again and he turned his head to the side.

"Tony is your _father_ " he said, the understanding and shock coloring his words.

"Yup" she popped the 'p'. She ducked under his arm and moved to the door, pulling it open and disappearing on the other side. It didn't take Steve long to catch up.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" he muttered as he followed after her. She shrugged, changing directions suddenly, causing Steve to trip over his own feet trying to keep up with her. The coffee shop she led him into was packed and loud, but they somehow managed to find an empty seat in the back.

"Look, Steve" she started once they were sat down with their coffees, "Just forget about it, okay? I just want to drink some coffee then go home and take a long hot bubble bath. You fucked up, you apologized, now we're done. We don't need to be friends, but we do need to be able to coexist. Your team is my family, we're fucking stuck together now whether we like it or not." Steve nodded his agreement, smartly choosing to keep his mouth shut and just not say anything. Instead he watched her. He was used to doing it, he realized, watching Darcy. It was like he wasn't able to look at anything else while she was in the room. She was beautiful, he'd known since the first day he saw her, but he'd been so angry and suspicious that it'd made him furious to think about. He'd been so fucked up that he'd convinced himself she was someone to be watched, someone to be weary and suspicious of. God had he been _wrong_.

The force of his uncovered fist pummeling the bag pushed it to it's limits. He could hear the seams ripping and the chains groaning as it swung forward. He grabbed the sides on the back swing, stopping it effortlessly within inches of his own body. The sweat had finally accumulated in the fabric of his shirt, staining the neckline and leaving spots down his back and chest. He'd worked hard for that sweat, tried to push himself further than he had outside of battle, but the lack of adrenaline and the thoughts swirling through his head made that impossible. Still, he'd managed well so far. But now, with the sweat soaking his skin, with his breath heaving from the effort, with his knuckles cracked and bleeding, he felt somehow worse. He'd messed up, again and a again and again. Wasn't he supposed to be better than this? Better than letting his best friend get taken and tortured and brainwashed for decades? Better than snapping at his friends and running them ragged over every little _could be but probably wasn't_ lead? Better than being such an ass to a person he didn't even really know?

He leaned his forehead against the bag, feeling the blood that his already-healed hands had left mix against the sweat on his skin. He dragged in a ragged breath, his chest seizing up tight, as he dropped to his knees and closed his eyes.

 _"What the fuck is wrong with me?”_ He whispered roughly into the bag.

"Looks to me like you're having a panic attack" Steve managed to bark out a laugh before glancing behind him. Sam was in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe with his arms and legs crossed. Looking totally relaxed, as if it wasn't 3 in the morning and one of his best friends wasn't on the floor of the gym having a bloody panic attack while he stood there in his pjs.

"Close your eyes and count to ten with me, alright? Just try to control your breathing" Sam told him, walking over to crouch next to Steve, one hand laying lightly on the other man's shoulder.

"Dog or cat?" Sam asked after they'd done the counting. Steve furrowed his eyebrows and looked at him, Sam just shook his head and repeated the question.

"Uh, dog" he told him.

"Favorite pie?" Sam asked.

"Rhubarb...." Steve answered.

"Favorite flavor of ice cream?"

"Moose tracks"

"Favorite tree?"

"What? Who has a favorite tree? That's ridiculous."

"Just answer the question man" Steve shook his head while Sam laughed, pushing him lightly trying to get him to answer.

"Alright, alright, I'm thinking! I guess... An, oak tree?" He said, completely unsure of himself. He'd never given much thought to the different types of trees, let alone figured out which would be his favorite.

"Excellent, now why don't you tell me what had ya so worked up?" Sam asked, dropping from his crouch onto his ass.

"Did you just distract me out of my panic attack?" Steve asked incredulously. Sam nodded and then shrugged, gesturing for Steve to start talking. He sighed before moving from his knees to sit fully on the floor, drawing his knees up toward his chest.

"What if the reason we haven't found Bucky yet is because he can't forgive me? And why should he? Do I even deserve it? I've been a shit friend! I never looked for him! And look at the way I've been treating everyone lately." He was up on his feet now, pacing stiffly as he worked himself back up. Sam watched from his place on the floor, letting him rant until he was pretty much blue in the face.

"Ya done?" He asked finally, after a few moments of still silence. Steve stood in front of him, hands on his hips and face to the ceiling. He nodded slowly, keeping his eyes up. To keep the tears from falling was Sam's guess.

"Darcy told me I should stop looking for Bucky. That I should trust that he'll come back when he's ready. I trust Bucky, I do. I just, I don't know if I can do that." Steve said softly to the ceiling. Sam raised his eyebrows at Steve, not that Steve could see it anyway.

"Don't you and Darcy not get along?" Sam asked, confused. The only times he'd seen them near each other they ignored each other. They literally went out of their way to avoid the other. He'd asked Darcy about it, but she'd always shrug her shoulders and say something about not being everyone's cup of tea. Which he understood, in a way, Darcy was a loud and snarky, not someone good at following rules or being polite, she could rub people the wrong way sometimes.

"I'm an asshole, that's all" he shrugged his shoulders, not really wanting to elaborate, but feeling like Sam was going to force it.

"Ahh, the jealousy stuff" Sam said, like he understood exactly what was going on. Steve leveled him with a glare.

"What the fuck are you talking about? Jealousy stuff?" He asked incredulously.

"Yeah, you know, the thing where you were jealous that Darcy was giving all her attention to Tony and none to you, so you thought they were sleeping together, but in reality, she's his daughter." Sam shrugged. Steve gapped at him like a fish for a moment before shaking his head. He wasn't jealous of Tony, that's not why he had been suspicious of Darcy. Obviously. Right? He opened his mouth to argue before snapping his jaw shut and standing straight. He ran their encounters through his mind, frowning slightly. He remembered seeing her for the first time, being so shocked that he couldn't even manage to say a word to her. He hadn't been so instantly attracted to someone since he'd met Bucky, not even Peggy. And that had made him angry, even angrier than he had been.

"Fuuuuck."

"I neeeeed to get laaaiiid" Darcy whined, flopping down onto the couch, right on top of both Natasha and Jane.

"AAAND I'm out" Tony said, picking up his coffee and his newspaper and running from the common room.

"So tell James, not us" Caroline told her from the love seat, not even looking up from her doing her nails.

"I diiiiid" Darcy whined again "He's not planning on being stateside for at least a few more months. It's been two months since I've seen him last. He told me to join tinder. I don't wanna join tinder! My vagina is gonna shrivel up and diiiiiieeee". Jane rolled her eyes at the dramatics and pushed Darcy's feet off her lap.

"Your vagina is gonna be fine, Darce." The little brunette told her. Darcy glared at her and curled into Natasha's side.

"Wanna help a girl out?" Darcy asked her, wiggling her eyebrows at Natasha and giving her a wicked smile.

"If you're taking volunteers, I'll help!" Clint yelled from his place at the bar. Darcy glanced over at him. He was on the edge of his seat, smiling wide and practically vibrating with enthusiasm, which was super weird to see from Clint at this time in the morning. Clint was not a morning person at all and it was rare to see him before noon.

"How much coffee have you had this morning?" Darcy asked, raising her eyebrow at the man. He shrugged at her and next to him Steve rolled his eyes.

"Three pots since I got back from my run this morning" Steve told her, flatly, purposely keeping his gaze forward and not looking toward the group on the couches. Darcy shook her head, muttering about caffeine addictions, trying to skip her gaze completely over the blonde as she turned her head back around.

"You couldn't handle Darcy, Clint." Natasha told him, hugging Darcy closer to her, sneaking a hand up underneath her shirt to caress the smooth skin of her stomach. Darcy's mouth dropped open and she sighed, leaning more into Natasha. Darcy wasn't usually a huge fan of such public displays but, who was she kidding? She didn't give a damn.

"Especially when she's like this" Natasha continued, fingers dipping just barely into the waistband of Darcy's leggings. Darcy practically purred in Natasha's lap as her eyes drifted closed. Natasha's other hand cupped Darcy's cheek, turning her head to catch her lips. Darcy leaned into the kiss, deepening it roughly, moaning into Natasha's mouth like they weren't in a room full of people. It was every bit as sweet as she remembered it, the years they spent apart practically disappearing as the kiss went on. Darcy whimpered as Natasha pulled away, trying to chase her mouth. Natasha smirked over Darcy's head where Clint and Sam were watching with their mouths hanging open, and Steve was resolutely staring at a wall, his back tense and cheeks pink.

"Woah" Clint whispered into the now silent room. Natasha's alarm going off broke the silence and she lazily pushed Darcy off her lap.

"Gotta go, kitten" she whispered into Darcy's hair, dropping a light kiss on her forehead before standing and walking from the room. Darcy pouted, crossing her arms over her chest and bouncing in her seat a little.

"What a fucking tease" she grumbled as Steve shot to his feet and ran from the room. Darcy raised an eyebrow as she watched his back retreat from the room and smirked a little, wondering just how cold of a shower he was gonna have to take after that. She instantly regretted the train of thought, picturing him naked with water running down his chiseled body. If Natasha's kisses hadn't made her need a cold shower already, that line of thinking certainly would.

"You think that's smart? Going down that road again?" Jane asked, watching Darcy carefully, her eyes just a tad bit guarded. Darcy sighed heavily, sinking in on herself a little.

"No, probably not." She admitted, her lips still tingling from Natasha's kisses. Her heart clenched painfully and her stomach felt like it dropped out. She ran her hand through her hair and over her face. Jane's arm wrapped around her shoulders and she leaned in to the tiny scientists body. Caroline was watching now, her brow furrowed in concern.

"You still love her, huh?" Jane whispered, squeezing her slightly.

"Of course" she didn't even have to think about it. She'd always love Natasha.

The doors to the elevator weren't even closed yet when her date pushed her back against the wall. She staggered against him as the elevator started moving, his lips and teeth taking up most of her attention. She wrinkled her nose a bit, pulling back at the sudden onslaught of a kiss that felt less like a kiss and more like getting her face mauled by a hungry mountain lion.

"Uh, just hold on dude" she said, popping a mint in her mouth to get rid of the garlic breath she knew she had going on. She offered him one too and frowned when he declined. Who declines a breath mint from the person they plan on making out with? Ick. The elevator stopped on the common floor, quite unexpectedly and she prayed that it wasn't her father getting on, but somehow, it ended up being worse than her father. The doors opened right as her date threw himself at her again, probably thinking this was the floor she lived on, and Steve fucking Rogers appeared just in time to see the flash of panic on her face before her date tried kissing her again. He didn't get far. He was yanked back by Steve's hand on his arm, then when he was far enough away from Darcy, Steve grabbed her and pulled her out of the elevator.

"Go home, kid" he said, giving the guy his patented _eyebrows of disappointment_ , as the doors slid shut in the guys face.

"What the hell, Steve?" Darcy yelled, yanking her hand away from his grip and stalking over to the bar.

"What the hell, Steve?" He repeated, voice dangerously low. Darcy spun around, her heartbeat kicking up a few notches at his tone. She'd never been scared of him, never thought of him as dangerous, but now, the way he was staring at her, the way his voice was pitched low, dangerous was the only word she could find to describe him. His eyes glinted as he watched her, his scowl dipping lower. She took another drink, trying in vain to steady the shaking of her hands as she watched him.

"He wasn't worth it" he said, voice still low.

"Wasn't worth what?" She asked, surprised when her voice didn't shake as bad as her hands were. "If this is that thing were you make assumptions again, I'mma let you know right now, I'm not cheating! James is totally aware of me dating. It's called polyamory, okay?"

"Darcy, shut up" he mumbled as he stepped closer. She frowned at him, her hands clenching tightly around her glass as she threw the rest of it back.

"NO! You don't get to decide who I can and cannot date! And unless you're gonna offer yourself up on a silver platter you nee-" her words were cut off by lips on hers. He pressed roughly against her mouth, nipping on her bottom lip, taking advantage of her gasp to invade her mouth, wrapping his tongue around hers. He kissed her like he was starving, like kissing her was the only thing he ever wanted to do. She moaned into his mouth, pushing herself closer to him and squeaking slightly when he gripped her by the ass and lifted her up off the ground. She barely noticed they were moving, she figured it was to the couches on the other side of the room, but halfway there he growled in frustration against her lips and dropped her onto her feet by the pool table. He pushed her back against it, mouth moving down her neck to bite and suck marks into her delicate skin. She shivered as his fingertips dragging up the inside of her thighs, jerking her hips as he ripped her underwear off with one hand while burying two fingers of his other hand inside her with no warning. She moaned lowly at the feeling as he crooked his fingers just right, moving his thumb up to press against her clit.

"Come on sweetheart" he whispered into her neck as she jerked her hips against his hand, her fingers digging into the soft fabric of his shirt. He groaned as she smoothed her hand over his cock still covered by his sweatpants, pushing his hips more firmly into her hand as her hips sped up. He kissed her again, messy and filthy, swallowing her moans as she came apart on his fingers. He spun her around, pushing her to lean down against the pool table as he pushed into her from behind. He was rough with her, grabbing her hair and pulling slightly, pushing her body almost painfully into the pool table, pushing into her fast and hard, barely giving her time to breath, let alone react. She loved it. She loved it so much that she came again within minutes, no clitoral stimulation needed. Steve slowed down slightly, groaning as her walls clenched around him.

“Fuck you feel so good” he said, voice rough in her ear, as he picked up the pace again, clutching her hips in both hands as she cried out from the feeling. She whined slightly as he pulled all the way out of her, pulling hair slightly to encourage her to stand up straight, then pushing her backwards onto the pool table.

“I wanna see that pretty face of yours when you come all over my dick, sweetheart” his breath against her neck as he whispered into her skin made her shiver. He dug his teeth lightly into the same spot, his pace slower now so he could take the opportunity to suck marks onto her skin. She closed her eyes, the feeling of his teeth tugging on her skin and him filling her up almost too much. She could hear herself babbling, pleading, but she hadn’t been aware that she had been. She clutched at Steve’s hips, pulling him in, encouraging him to go as deep as possible with every thrust. He was whispering to her again, his rough voice in her ear making her clutch onto him harder. She wasn’t sure what he was saying, was way too distracted by his body. Her eyes shot open when she felt his hand grip her face, tilting it up to look him in the eyes as she came again, his hand keeping her from throwing her head back as her back bowed beneath him. He kissed her again, hungry and dominating as he pounded into her, fingers bruising her skin as he spilled inside of her, groaning into her mouth.

The kiss turned slower, sweeter, seemingly without either of their consent as they both came down from their highs, their still clothes chests brushing together with their breaths. Steve pulled Darcy up into his arms again, moving through the room as they were kissing, sitting surprisingly easily on the couch still buried inside of her. They finally broke the kiss, their faces inches apart. Steve’s eyes searched hers, and unsure look on his face, like he had no idea what to do next.

“That was a nice surprise” she said softly, not really sure what else to say.

“I’m sorry” Steve whispered against her lips, kissing her softly but briefly.

“For what? Great orgasms? ‘Cause, trust me, Steve. You do not have to be sorry for that” Steve raised an eyebrow and smirked at her expression, before sobering up and looking away.

“No, for, everything before. I was an asshole, I realize that. I know you have no reason to, but I’ve been getting help, and, I guess, I don’t know. Could I have another shot, I guess is what I’m asking. I know I don’t deserve it, but that guy you met, he wasn’t me, that’s not who I am and I’m so ashamed I let myself be li-“ Darcy cut his nervous babbling off by pressing her hand over his mouth to stop his talking. She shook her head at him.

“I get it.” She told him, removing her hand “I’m not gonna say it’s okay, because you made me feel like shit, but I do understand. And I meant it that day in the coffee shop, you’re forgiven. Plus, if more orgasms are part of this, then it’s a hell yeah” She bounced a little, forgetting for a second the fact that he was still inside of her. He groaned lightly at the feeling, instantly hardening, jerking his hips against hers instinctively.

“Oops, sorry” she giggled, leaning into his chest a little and wiggling around slightly.

“More orgasms are absolutely part of this, especially if you keep doing that” he said, tone mock admonishing, as they rocked slowly against each other. Steve leaned back against the couch, letting out a groan as he tossed his head back and closed his eyes, focusing on the feeling.

The sound of Jarvis clearing his throat interrupted them.

“Miss Lewis, Captain Rogers” he greeted, “Mr. Stark is on his way to the common room, I have slowed the elevator, but I would suggest evacuating the room.”

“Oops” Darcy laughed, again, smiling wickedly at Steve, who smirked back at her.

“Wanna continue this in my room or stay here and act like none of this ever happened?” Steve asked, giving her an easy out, which he should have known she wouldn’t take. She rolled her eyes at him even suggesting it.

“Your room” she told him, tone saying _duh_ even though she didn’t. He smiled wide at her, shooting to his feet, catching her with his hands on her ass, still keeping them joined together. He reluctantly pulled out of her and set her on her feet so he could pull his pants all the way back up, before scooping Darcy back up into his arms and taking off for the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we finally have some Darcy/Steve.  
> I feel like some parts of this chapter just fall flat, but I spent a lot more time on it than last chapter, so if isn’t better then 😭  
> I think we’ll be seeing Bucky again in a few chapters, yay!
> 
> I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy in these tough times. For any of you out there protesting, be careful! And stay hydrated!


	15. Chapter 14

She woke up alone.

The sun was streaming in through the curtains and the empty spot in the bed was cold, the blankets done up neatly on that side, like Steve'd made the bed around her. Dread sank like lead to the bottom of her stomach as she walked from the bedroom to the bathroom, taking in the things the darkness had hidden from her sight the night before. She'd noticed it the first time she'd been in there, of course, but the whole place was bare. It was almost stupidly clean and there were no personal objects in sight. Nothing personal except for the giant red, white, and blue shield propped up next to the door. Darcy didn't linger long, not sure just how welcome she was now in the light of day. She took a quick shower, using Steve's amazing smelling shower gel, remembering the way it smelled on his bare skin, then dressing quickly.

Using Jarvis's help, Darcy managed to sneak through the tower to her room, thanking her lucky stars when she didn't run into a single soul. She didn't want to have to explain her walk of shame, which she normally wasn't ashamed of _at all_. But something told her Steve might not have the same opinions about that.

The common floor kitchen was full when she walked a in a few minutes later, newly dressed in clean clothes. Natasha and Sam were eating at the table while having a peaceful conversation. Actually, Darcy did a double take, they looked to be having an _intimate_ conversation. If the way they were leaning in towards each other and whispering quietly was anything to judge by.

Jane had her nose stuck in her research while Thor hand fed her pop tarts, which for some reason he thought was Jane's favorite food. It wasn't, but Thor had a soft spot for the first earth food he'd been introduced to, so no one said anything. Clint was literally sitting on top of the refrigerator for some reason and Steve was standing in front of said refrigerator trying to coax him down. It wasn't rare to see Clint doing stupid things, it was however rare to see Clint before 11 am.

Darcy, however, ignored them all, making a beeline for the coffee and sipping right out of Clint's pot that he'd left alone at the breakfast bar.

"Hey!" He exclaimed when he saw her, but she flipped him off and turned her back on his pouting. She heard Steve audibly sigh behind her and the hushed brush of clothing that usually signaled angry sign language. She glanced back over and sure enough, Clint's hands were flying through the air while Steve's occasionally moved in response. Darcy blinked, watching the silent conversation take place.

"Didn't know you knew sign language Cap" Darcy said, while Clint angrily signed _I took my hearing aid out to ignore you. Stop making_ _that_ _pointless!_ Steve spun in his spot when he heard Darcy's voice, his cheeks instantly going a slight shade of pink.

"Miss Lewis" he said in greeting, now ignoring whatever the hell it was that Clint was doing behind him. She raised an eyebrow at him over the rim of the coffee pot. The greeting was curt and unfamiliar, as if they didn't know each other. As if he hadn't been chanting her name the previous night while his hands fisted in her hair and her lipstick smeared all over his body. Lipstick he'd asked her to reapply for that exact reason.

"Captain Rogers" she nodded in response, taking another sip, trying to act just as unfamiliar as him. He seemed nervous, which twisted Darcy's gut. She wasn't sure whether it was a good 'I like you and want you' nervous or a 'what the fuck did I do?' Nervous.

He glanced around them, obviously taking stock of everyone in the room, before walking closer to her, leaning slightly over the breakfast bar toward her, a soft smile appearing on his face.

"I was wondering if you might like to get breakfast with me this morning?" He asked, his words sounding a lot more casual than his body language. Darcy grinned at him and nodded her head, probably too enthusiastically.

"I'd love to."

Natasha and Sam were smirking at each other, Thor looked ecstatic, and even Jane had a smile on her face that her work couldn't have put there. Everyone, other than Thor, was pretending that they weren't paying attention to them. Which they failed at horribly. Clint however was totally confused and angrily signed _Why is everyone ignoring me?_ As they walked out. Darcy just laughed.

It was weird, being around Steve. She wasn't sure exactly how to act. They'd never been friends, never hung out together, never really did much other than ignore each other and spend as few tense filled seconds together as possible, but now the tension felt different. Things had shifted last night and she wasn't exactly sure how to go about dealing with the shift. She'd obviously never wanted to be on bad terms with Steve, but they just seemed like they'd never be able to get along before. It was just weird. They stood in silence, a few feet away from each other in the elevator, neither looking at the other while they went down. Steve motioned for her to get off first when the doors opened, but still didn't break the silence.

It was early enough in the morning that people were just arriving for work. They turned their heads as the two left, Steve leading Darcy with a hand placed on the small of her back, warming her skin slightly where he was touching.

The eyes suddenly made her wish she'd gone through any trouble at all with her appearance today, instead of just wearing a pair of ratty jeans and one of Clint's old shirts tied up to fit her better. But Steve was still in his running clothes, just a pair of grey sweatpants that made his ass look absolutely fantastic (but real talk, what _doesn't_ make his ass look fantastic?) and a too-small white shirt, still slightly sweaty in front. So Darcy, never being one to be ashamed, leaned back into Steve's hand, taking the contact as confirmation of their new relationship. One where they didn't have to feel awkward around each other and hopefully one that included a whole lot more touching.

They didn't walk far. Steve was unwilling to bring Darcy too far from the tower without more backup, as if Captain America wasn't backup enough. The place was fancy and upscale, obviously somewhere that rich and famous people frequented. A place that they were both horribly undressed for. Also a place with a big _Closed_ sign on the door. But Steve pushed the door open, walking confidently through the restaurant to the back to the kitchen. He nocked on the kitchen door three times as he pushed it open, revealing and already bustling kitchen. At the sound of the knocks, one head out of the dozen or so in there perked up. The woman was tall, her hair pulled up into a bun on the top of her head, her chefs jacket halfway unbuttoned, making her look just a little frazzled.

"Steve!" She exclaimed, abandoning whatever it was she was working on, another chef sliding into her place to take over in a move that looked choreographed. The woman ducked through the kitchen, skillfully dodging plates and people and stepped into Steve's open arms.

"Jenny, it's so good to see you again" Steve said, squeezing her slightly before backing away to look over at Darcy.

"Jenny, this is Darcy. Darcy, this is Jenny. Her grandfather and I fought together in the war." Steve explained, introducing the two. Darcy nodded hello and put her hand to shake, but the other woman pulled her in for a hug, laughing joyously as she squeezed her. Jenny was probably only a few years older than Darcy was herself, but her whole aura felt more like she was that 50 year old aunt who was mischievous and always encouraging shenanigans. Darcy loved her instantly.

"I just realized this may not have been the best idea ever" Steve mumbled as he saw the gleeful smile spread across Darcy's face. Darcy and Jenny cackled together for a moment while Steve shook his head at them.

"Come on, I got a table waiting for you. I hope you're hungry, Darcy, my team's working on a breakfast overload!" She said enthusiastically, leading them back through the restaurant and toward a secluded section with cushy booths and even more elegant decor.

"I've got a special treat for you guys today too. We just got a new pastry chef. We're sampling out some new desserts for our menu." She told them as they sat in their cozy, circular booth. Steve smiled and bumped his shoulder into Darcy's.

"Why do you think I'm here?" He joked, grinning. Jenny laughed and shushed him as she walked away, promising them she'd have food brought out to them in a second.

"Used to be a strip club" Steve said as he watched Darcy glance around. She turned and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah? Didn't know they had strip clubs back in the days of the dinosaurs" she said, giggling as Steve threw his arm around her shoulder and used it to pull her closer to him.

"Just how old do you think I am?" He asked, with fake outrage, a smile playing at his lips as his eyes glanced down to hers. She wished she'd worn her lipstick. The same red that he admitted drove him crazy since that first day they'd met.

"Uh, like a million years old. Which makes you a dirty old man for being here with me" she joked, watching his eyes narrow slightly as his smile turned into a smirk. He pulled her up and into his lap so fast that she shrieked a little in surprise.

"I'm okay with that" he whispered against the skin of her neck, just below her ear. And then he was kissing her, his hands cupping the sides of her face as he drew it out, slow and deep. Somehow it was almost more intimate than any of the stuff they'd done the night before, and they'd both been completely naked for most of that.

They finally pulled away slightly, staying close enough to feel each other's heavy breaths. Steve's eyes were searching hers, his face questioning. But he didn't say anything, didn't even open his mouth. All he did was kiss her once more, before sliding her off his lap and readjusting his arm around her.

It was strange, just how normal it felt to be next to him. She'd felt the same with James, but from the start. There was just something comforting about the soldiers that made her drop her guard. She hadn't originally felt it with Steve, the two of them being at such odds, so she didn't expect to feel it so soon after they finally straightened things out a bit. She watched him over the table as they ate, where she'd moved to give them both room to eat, as he threw his head back and laughed loudly. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen him happy before last night, so the sound of his laughter and the smile on his face was quickly becoming addicting.

The table between them was ladened with food just like Jenny had promised. Steve was already halfway through his third stack of pancakes, and judging by how much more food was still on the table, his appetite was even bigger than James'. They laughed as they ate, Darcy telling stories about Thor and Jane, what it was like working for Jane, traveling the world, living with Natasha, living with Caroline, the pranks they used to pull on Coulson for no reason other than to be annoying. He told her stories about Bucky, about how many times he'd gotten the shit kicked out of him (He'd laughed uproariously when she called him an "angry chihuahua"), about Bucky being a ladies man and getting in trouble with a few boyfriends and on one or two occasions a husband, about the good times with the Howling commandos. But the subjects stayed light and funny, both of them pulling back and changing the subject when the stories started to drift dangerously close to anything sad. It'd been over an hour now, both of them finished eating, Darcy cuddled under Steve's arm again. He smiled softly down at her and she could practically feel her heart explode. Something about the gesture, him holding her close with their fingers threaded together and the look on his face, felt so intimate, so loving. They'd barely gone from _lust_ to _like_ at this point, and the way her heart kicked up as soon as his eyes caught hers, was absolutely ridiculous. _One great_ _night of fucking and one awesome breakfast after does not love make,_ Darcy, she told herself, knowing it was probably pointless anyway. She was willing to fall, she was hoping to fall. She'd have jumped off the deep end the day she met him if only for James's sake, at that point. The thought threatened to make her feel guilty, but Steve's lips soft against her own drove the feeling from her mind and she smiled into the kiss.

"Max?" She jumped slightly at the interruption, glancing over Steve's shoulder to see the person who had talked.

"Deke?" She asked, incredulously. He was standing in front of the table in a white chefs jacket pushing a metal cart in front of him. The cart was filled with small samples of different desserts.

"Deke! You're the new pastry chef! Congrats!" Darcy said enthusiastically, as Deke stood, just staring. Steve looked between them, his expression a mix of curiosity and humor. He squeezed her hand gently and nodded his head toward Deke.

"Gonna introduce me to your friend?" He asked, trying to smother a smile.

"Of course. Steve, this is Deke, Deke this is Steve. Deke and I met in pastry school. It's been.. god. Years!" She laughed, as Steve straightened up.

"Nice to meet you, Deke" he greeted, offering his hand. Deke took it, shaking it slowly, barely reacting, still just staring in shock. Steve wasn't even trying to hide his smile now as he glanced back at Darcy, who laughed. Deke was saved from having to actually react to anything by Jenny. She came up behind Deke and started putting desserts on the table in a specific order before taking a seat across from Steve.

"Alright. What do you have for us today?" Jenny asked him, raising her eyebrows as his wide eyes met hers.

"Captain. That's Captain America" Deke whispered, causing Darcy to giggle into Steve's shoulder. Jenny shook her head slightly at him and then sighed heavily and looked at Steve.

"He said it was gonna happen and I didn't believe him" she said, now completely ignoring the man. Darcy waved her words away.

"Don't worry, it'll pass in a few minutes." She snapped her fingers a few times until Deke's gaze swung to hers. He leaned over the table, eyes still glued to her. She wordlessly held three fingers up, his eyes darting to the movement, which he then copied. She slowly counted down on her fingers, still wordlessly, then snapped her fingers again and Deke's body instantly sagged.

"God damn it Max!" He exclaimed, as Darcy started cackling. She leaned back into Steve's side.

"So, he didn't believe me that I could hypnotize him. He's the one who chose you as a trigger!" She defended, through her laughter. Steve was laughing again too, threading his fingers with hers again and pulling them up to his mouth. He dropped a kiss on the back of her hand.

"You're brilliant".

Deke recovered quickly, passing around his desserts and explaining what they were and what was special about them while the three of them sampled them. Everything he put down in front of them was delicious and she could see just how appreciative Steve was of all the sweets. She watched as he closed his eyes, making a delighted humming noise, as he tried a piece of fudge cake. He took another fork full, holding it out to her and watching as she leaned forward to take it from him, his eyes darkening slightly as he watched her lips close over the fork. He shifted slightly in his seat, his free hand squeezing her thigh lightly under the table. It was hard to focus after that, as Steve rubbed patterns into her leg while he talked to Jenny and Deke across the table. She managed to catch bits of the conversation, feeling her eyelids droop slightly as she concentrated on the feeling of Steve's hand on her. She wished she was wearing shorts, wanted to feel his skin against hers.

His hand moved off her thigh, but then his arm was around her and she was being pulled into his body again.

"Getting tired, sweetheart?" He asked as she leaned her head into him.

"Yeah. I guess I didn't realize it before" His laugh rocked her body. He kissed her gently on the forehead.

"I've gotta help Jenny with a shelf in her office real quick, okay?" He asked, "I'll hurry up so we can get home." He meant home as in the tower, but the sound of the word _home_ rolling off his lips sounded so damn good. She nodded, watching as he got up, following Jenny through the restaurant.

"Ugh" she groaned, tossing her head down on the table. She really hadn't realized how tired she was and now her body felt like it didn't want to move. It wasn't even 10 am yet, and they'd stayed up most of the night. But Darcy'd been used to getting small amounts of sleep, had trained for that exact thing, but the last few months had made her softer apparently. Unable to manage even one night of missed sleep.

"So... You and Captain America?" Deke said suddenly, his voice unsure. Darcy glanced up at him, not even realizing that he'd still been sitting at the table. She looked to the side, toward where Steve had walked off to.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah." She answered, a little unsure herself. It was all too new, none of it even discussed yet, but the thought of saying no turned her stomach. A few more minutes went by in silence.

"Why'd you leave?" He asked, softly. She shrugged, screwing up her face as she tried to find the words she wanted to say.

"I loved you" he continued, "I was willing to give up everything for you." Darcy sighed. She reached across the table and grabbed his hand, squeezing it.

"I loved you too, Deke. That's why I couldn't let you give up everything for me" he opened his mouth to argue but she shushed him, squeezing his hand again.

"My life has never been easy Deke. There was so much I couldn't tell you, so much I couldn't tell anyone. I saw what loosing money did to Caroline, I couldn't put you through that too. Not when I couldn't be honest with you" she said, releasing his hand and leaning back. "I'm sorry." Deke looked confused and sad. Which she totally understood.

"Darcy?" Steve called softly from across the room "Ready?" His smile was soft and sad too, meaning he heard their exchange. Could probably have heard it all the way in the back with his damned super hearing. Darcy nodding, moving out of her seat. She squeezed Deke's shoulder slightly as she walked by, reaching out to grab Steve's outstretched hand as she walked to him. She could feel Deke watching them as they walked, Steve putting a comforting arm around her shoulders as he steered her away. He didn't ask any questions as they walked back to the tower, hand in hand. It almost surprised her, his silence, though she supposed there really weren't many questions to have. The whole conversation was pretty self explanatory. She was used to Jane though, who would pretend he hadn't heard a thing and let her explain to him, let her rant and rave if she needed to. But Steve's silence and his comforting presence were proving to be just as effective in this situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I’ve been off my meds for the last few weeks, so its been super hard to get anything done. Plus, my mood has been urging me to write angst, but this didn’t call for it, so I feel like I over compensated and went too fluffy. Idk.  
> Also, I thought I posted the previous chapter a few weeks ago, but then today it said it was just a draft? Idk what happened, but sorry? Everything should be good now....


	16. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how long this has taken and sorry for how short it is. I really thought this would be one of the easiest parts to write, but I just can’t get it in a way that isn’t completely glossing over it or going into too much detail and becoming boring.   
> I figured I’d give a bit of an update now to show everyone about where it’s headed.

"Is Steeeve taking you to Stark's party this weekend?" Jane teased from across the lab as soon as Darcy walked through the doors. Darcy rolled her eyes at her friend and ignored her as she set up the lunch she'd brought with her.  
"Steve? What? I thought Steve hated you?" Caroline questioned as she walked in behind Darcy, her tall heels clicking on the tile floors as she walked. Jane's eyebrows rose into her hairline and a slow, shit-eating grin spread over her face.   
"Darcy and Steve are totally boinking" Jane told her, actually moving away from her work willingly as she settled at on the couch. Caroline froze, looking back and forth between Darcy and Jane before throwing her hands up in the air.  
"I live with you!" She exclaimed, dramatically, "How did I not know this?"  
"Your observational skills aren't all that impressive, Caroline." Darcy answered, shrugging lightly before plopping on the couch next to Jane.   
"Yeah, but I thought they were better than Jane's!"   
Both Darcy and Jane rolled their eyes at Caroline's offended huff.  
"Jane doesn't need impressive observational skills to see the two practically ripping each other's clothes off in the elevator." Jane teased, elbowing Darcy in the side. She didn't even have the grace to look embarrassed.  
"One, don't you ever say the word 'boinking' again. That was way too weird. And two, you should be thanking me. I know you've got your own blonde hunk, but Steve's pretty damned nice to look at." Darcy elbowed her back.   
"Okay, so, I'm really confused" Caroline told them, getting up from her seat and starting to pace around in front of the couch, "I didn't think Steve was a huge fan of yours. You know, since you cursed him out after pretty much every interaction you had with him. Also, what happened to James?"   
Darcy sighed when Jane perked up at the mention of James.  
"Who is Jaaamees?" She asked, intentionally mimicking the way Darcy would always try to get dirt out of Jane.  
"James is my boyfriend. Has been for over a year now, and that will not be changing any time soon. He knows about and fully supports me and Steve" Darcy informed Jane before turning on an already questioning Caroline, "It's called polyamory. Steve's also aware that James exists, but doesn't know anything other than his name, and will not find anything else out until James give the go ahead. Right, Caroline?" Caroline nodded, understanding written plainly across her face. Jane's eyes narrowed at them but she stayed silent, probably waiting to collect more information before grilling Darcy on the subject at a later date. The tiny scientist was ruthless.  
"Steve and I are working things out. And yes, he was not my biggest fan and in turn I was not his biggest fan, buuut, sometimes shit happens." She offered, knowing it was a flimsy explanation for something she wasn't completely sure of yet herself. Normally, with the way Steve's treated her, she would have never even talked to him again, but now she was sleeping with him. It was a lot for her to unpack. She, thankfully, got the opportunity to take a step back to look at her own feelings, when the avengers had been called out on a mission. They'd only been together a few days by that point, but they'd spent pretty much all their time shut up in Steve's apartment, mostly naked, so it'd been an unwelcome welcome separation. She'd needed to evaluate her feelings, make sure she wasn't only giving him a second chance because of James, or worse, because he was hot and she was lonely. They'd been gone for almost a week and by the end of it she'd been so anxious to have him back that she met him at the elevator while the other's brought Clint to the lab. She'd almost felt bad about ditching a wounded Clint in favor of tearing Steve's uniform off right there in the elevator, but he'd been joking and laughing as they brought him in, so didn't let it get to her. (She had, of course, immediately gone to see him after). And that's where Jane had found them.   
That had been just yesterday, but already Jane had used the knowledge of her and Steve against her. The woman was truly evil.  
"Alright, ladies, eat your damn lunch so we can go pack for this science thingy" Darcy told them, giving them both her best 'Mom' look, the one she used to get Clint to stop being a little shit, before grabbing her own food to eat. Jane had less than six hours before she was supposed to be leaving for her convention and she had yet to pack any of her clothes, any of her integral equipment, or write her presentation that she was supposed to be giving in two days. Caroline had graciously offered to pack necessities for the scientist while she packed her science stuff and Darcy put together her presentation for her. At this point, Darcy was really wondering how the scientist had lasted so long without her. She also wondered where the interns ran off to, the ones who really should have been doing this sort of stuff.

The party seemed to already be in full swing by the time Darcy made her way off the elevator and onto the common room floor. Steve was waiting for her, offering her his arm as she appeared. She grinned at the slightly gobsmacked look on his face as he took in her tight floor length dress. It was strapless and dipped low enough to show off a good amount of cleavage. It also happened to be the same color as Steve's favorite lipstick.   
There was music playing, but no one was dancing, a fact that didn't seem to stop Steve at all once he had Darcy in his arms. He led her over by the couches, off to the side and out of the way of most of the people. She giggled as he spun her around and pulled her into his chest, swaying to the beat of the music.  
"I don't actually know how to dance" he told her, whispering, like he was telling her a secret no one else knew. She laughed up at him and shook her head.  
"You're doing a great job," she whispered back, "Maybe later I'll teach you a few moves." She winked at him to punctuate her words, grinning saucily at him as she leaned in closer. He threw his head back and laughed, not paying attention to any of the people who glanced over at them curiously.   
"Oh, sweetheart, I am looking forward to that" he told her, adjusting his grip on her hip, making her shiver with the feeling of his hands on her and the promise his words held.   
"Okay, nope. Whatever's going on here needs to stop." A new voice said over Darcy's shoulder. Darcy rolled her eyes and groaned, sinking further into Steve's arms. Tony's hand clamped down on Darcy's arm and she was being gently tugged out of Steve's embrace. She groaned again, ready to tell Tony off, but Steve allowed him to pull them apart, grinning wildly at them as Tony maneuvered Darcy away. She looked over her shoulder at Steve as he shrugged his shoulders at her and gave her a wink before he was intercepted by Thor.   
"Tony" she said, her voice full of warning, as he continued to pull her further through the room. He automatically dropped his hold on her arm, putting both hands up and taking a step back.  
"Sorry, sorry" he said, not sounding sorry at all.  
"I will dance with whoever I want to dance with." She said, forcefully, both hands on her hips as she stared him down, anger clear as day on her face. He nodded once, hands still up, before turning to the bar and swiping two drinks up off the counter and shoving one in her hands.   
"You look like you need this" he told her, before muttering "Lord knows I do". They both downed their drinks simultaneously, making Natasha, who was currently behind the bar, shake her head at just how similar the two were. She had two drinks ready to replace their empty glasses by the time they'd both been drained, handing them off with a roll of her eyes.  
Tony and Darcy stood in silence for a minute. Their awkward energy was interrupted by Rhodey, who swept in with a large smile and a big hug while exclaiming "My favorite niece!". Darcy sagged in relief, laughing and hugging Rhodey back, immediately ensconced in a conversation about the last few years of her life, along with being admonished for not keeping in touch well enough. Thankfully, with the addition of his best friend, Tony seemed to relax and joined the conversation, the awkwardness between them disappearing completely until Tony had his arm slung around Darcy's shoulder while they laughed.   
The months that Darcy'd been living in the tower had brought Darcy and Tony closer than she'd thought had been possible after his absence from her childhood. And while there was still tension at time, like any time Tony started to act like a typical dad, they'd developed a great relationship, which seemed to show to anyone who say them together.   
As soon as Darcy'd parted from her father and adopted uncle, she'd had people introducing themselves left and right, all eager to get to know her, all with questions about Tony Stark on the tip of their tongues. It annoyed her, the way they circled like sharks scenting blood in the water, but she kept a wicked smile on her lips, doling out jokes like weapons, weaving in and out of the crowds and handling people like a true Stark, like she'd been born into the role. She caught Natasha's eye across the room as she laughed at a story some old army guy was telling her, catching the proud smile on her lips as she watched Darcy play the room like the spy she'd taught her to be.   
It was true, this wasn't the type of setting that Natasha had trained her for. She was in her own home, surrounded by her own family, not in enemy territory looking for info on enemies, but almost everyone in the room was looking for some sort of scandle, ready and willing to throw any one of them under the bus for some good bit of gossip. It had Darcy's hackles raised, so she did what she'd been taught to do; gather information while not giving away her own. It was exhausting, and she didn't realized just how far up her guard was until Steve had finally managed to free himself from his group of admirers long enough to sneak back off to that clear corner with her, gathering her in his arms again and swaying to the music. This time, more people were dancing, small pockets of people throughout the room, while the others milled about.  
The party wound down slowly, until finally it was just those of them that lived in the tower along with Maria Hill, Rhodey, and Dr.Cho, who Darcy'd only been introduced to a few days prior. They were all mostly crowded around the couches, laughing and talking, when a damned sentient robot crashed their party, taking off with Loki’s scepter that they’d just gotten back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RIP Chadwick Boseman   
> He was the greatest Black Panther ever and his passing is such a tragedy


End file.
